With Tom Hardy confirming that a script for Venom 3 has been written, we know that whether we like it or not, a third Venom movie will be coming. Of course, after the financial success of both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, it was pretty much guaranteed that the series would get a third entry. Tom Hardy also hinted that it might be his last turn as Venom/Eddie Brock, in a recent Instagram post.
The first two films introduced multiple characters and symbiotes which make up Venom’s world in the comic books, including Carnage, Riot, and Shriek. Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home expanded the scope of characters we could see in Venom 3, with both of their post-credits scenes showing Venom being transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and back again. With the list of Marvel characters who could show up in Venom 3 quite expansive, let’s take a look at some that might show up in the movie.
Dylan Brock
It is quite unlikely that we will see a faithful adaptation of Dylan Brock in Venom 3, as the character is the son of Eddie Brock and Anne Weying. Weying is played by Michelle Williams in the Venom franchise. She is Eddie’s ex-fiancé and was engaged to Dr. Dan Lewis in the second film.
Dylan Brock first appeared in Venom Vol. 4 #7 in 2018, written by Venom scribe Donny Cates with pencils by Iban Coello. Even though Dylan’s appearance would be weird and slightly out of place, his birth in the comics was due to Venom latching a piece of himself to her while she was She-Venom, who she did transform into in both films. It’s also worth noting that Dylan himself did become Venom recently, so if Tom Hardy were to bow out, the franchise could continue with his character’s son, Dylan Brock.
Knull
It would not be surprising if Knull turned out, somehow, to be the villain of Venom 3. After all, Knull is Venom’s most formidable foe, at least in recent years. Knull was first introduced in Venom Vol. 4 #3 by Cates and Ryan Stegman. The character is the God of the Void in Marvel Comics. In the comic books, Knull created the symbiotes and created The Hive, a realm in which all symbiotes are connected. Venom explains this connection briefly in the post-credits scene for Venom: Let There Be Carnage before arriving in the MCU.
The MCU is about to have another connection to Knull, as in the comic books the Necrosword was created by Knull, as it was the first symbiote. The Necrosword was used by Gorr the God Butcher in the comics, and Gorr is played by Christian Bale in Thor: Love and Thunder. This might lend more credence to Knull appearing in the MCU, but an appearance in Venom 3 would not be far-fetched.
Agent Venom
If Venom 3 were to continue the trend of adding in more symbiotes with each film, Agent Venom would be a very good pick. One of the most interesting uses of the symbiote, Agent Venom was Flash Thompson in the comic books, the famous bully of Peter Parker. Flash has appeared in each of the three live-action adaptations of Spider-Man and was played by Joe Manganiello in Spider-Man, Chris Zylka in The Amazing Spider-Man, and Tony Revolori in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Flash Thompson first received the Venom symbiote in The Amazing Spider-Man #654, after he lost his legs fighting in Iraq. With the symbiote giving Flash legs and the ability to be more powerful than he ever was without it, he worked for the government and became Agent Venom. This concept could work in Venom 3 and they could even bring back one of the actors who previously played him. Thompson also briefly became Anti-Venom, a white symbiote that has healing abilities, which could also appear in Venom 3.
Spider-Man
It wouldn’t be that surprising if everyone’s favorite web-slinger were to appear in Venom 3 — after all, the universe is Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, which seems to be quite difficult to flesh out without a Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man did appear in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, on news footage when Venom was transported to the MCU. But Tom Holland was not transported to Venom’s universe, so his appearance would be unlikely.
If Spider-Man were to appear, it wouldn’t be clear as to which version of the character we would get, as well as whether or not they would use any of the Spider-Men from Spider-Man: No Way Home. Andrew Garfield’s version of the character would probably make the most sense based on the age of all the villains or anti-heroes introduced in the Sony universe. Spider-Man should turn up soon in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe because it seems weird to name your universe after a character who isn’t even in it yet.
Morbius
The meme machine himself, Morbius could appear in Venom 3. Of course, we’re talking about Dr. Michael Morbius, who was played by Jared Leto in the 2022 film Morbius, directed by Daniel Espinosa. As it’s the only other Spider-Man spinoff film to release, if Sony were taking their universe seriously they would surely include at least a cameo from the living vampire. The character is immensely popular as well, albeit only as a meme with ‘It’s Morbin’ time’ and ‘get Morbed’ becoming part of internet vernacular.
But the film did not do amazingly well financially or critically, making $163 million, against a budget of $83 million, so that might decrease our chances of seeing Morbius in Venom 3. However, Morbius was recently re-released in theaters, so we could always be getting Morbed in Venom 3 if Sony decides to hedge their bets on the character.
Madame Web
Continuing the line of thought that Sony would want to connect their universe by adding more Spider-Man-related characters into Venom 3, Madame Web could make an appearance in the film. A Madame Web movie is set to release in 2023. Dakota Johnson is set to play the titular character even though she was an elderly woman in the source material. In the comics, Madame Web was a clairvoyant mutant who helped all the Spider characters; Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, etc.
Sydney Sweeney has also been cast in Madame Web, although as of this writing it is unclear as to who she is playing. Any Spider-Man fan would guess that she would either be playing Spider-Gwen, Black Cat, or the second Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter. If she were to be playing one of those characters, her chances of appearing in Venom 3 are the same as Madame Web. Again, Sony needs to keep up interconnectivity if they hope to build a strong, lasting universe, so having a Madame Web character in the film would work.
Vulture
Adrian Toomes, also known as the Vulture, was played by Michael Keaton in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Quite bizarrely, Toomes was transported to the reality which contained both Venom and Morbius in Morbius after the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Toomes appeared in the post-credits scene of Morbius where he promptly met up with the vampiric doctor and suggested that they form a team, while name-dropping Spider-Man.
There is a chance that Sony is trying to use Adrian Toomes as their version of the MCU’s Nick Fury. If you remember, Nick Fury was the one who approached Tony Stark in the post-credits scene of Iron Man, to talk to him about forming the Avengers. If Sony is planning on using Toomes in this way, the chances of the Vulture appearing in Venom 3 would be quite high as it seems like they are using him to form the Sinister Six. With Sony focusing on villain spin-off films — Morbius, Venom, and Kraven the Hunter — it does seem obvious that they are aiming for a Sinister Six film, and Toomes appearing in Venom 3 would be a great way for Venom to be inducted into the Sinister Six.
Kraven
Kraven the Hunter is set to release in 2023. The film will focus on the titular character Kraven, who will be played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. In the comic books, Kraven is a hunter whose target becomes Spider-Man, and he is the antagonist of one of the greatest Spider-Man comic books, Kraven’s Last Hunt. Ariana DeBose will also be in the film, playing the Marvel villain Calypso.
According to Aaron Taylor-Johnson, they will be changing the character to make him more of an anti-hero, turning him into an animal lover rather than a hunter. Again, Kraven the Hunter should be coming out before Venom 3, so having Kraven appear in both films would be an excellent opportunity for Sony to connect their universe. However, even if it is likely that Kraven might join the eventual Sinister Six, his appearance in Venom 3, much like Madame Web, would be dependent on the performance of both films.
Toxin
In the comic books, Toxin was one of the most powerful symbiotes, having been spawned from Carnage. While Toxin was bonded to Eddie Brock at one time, Toxin had more than one host. This character is pretty much a shoo-in for Venom 3 because he was already in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Played by Stephen Graham in the film, Detective Patrick Mulligan was one of the hosts of Toxin. At the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage Mulligan was seemingly killed before his eyes glowed blue as a result of absorbing a piece of a symbiote.
The first two Venom films introduced multiple symbiotes already, with Carnage, Shriek, and Riot all being villains, it seems very likely that Sony won’t abandon the thread they set up in the second film, and that Detective Mulligan will suit up with his symbiote. It would be a disappointment if they didn’t introduce another symbiote in the third film as one of the coolest things about Venom’s lore is how many different symbiotes there are.
Scorpion
Scorpion is one of the more interesting characters on this list because not only does the Spider-Man villain have a connection to Venom but he was also already in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Mac Gargan, the alter ego of Scorpion, was played by Michael Mando in Spider-Man: Homecoming and he was also in the post-credits scene of that film where he asked the Vulture about Spider-Man’s identity. Theoretically, if he did find out that Peter Parker was Spider-Man he could have been sent to Venom’s universe just like Vulture was.
Mac Gargan was also one of the hosts to Venom in the comic books, which is what makes his chances of appearing in Venom 3 stronger. Scorpion appearing in the film, or at least in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, would make sense for what Sony is attempting to do with their villains as Scorpion is one of the more popular Spider-Man villains. But whether or not they will use the version of the character introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming is up for debate.
Of course, plenty of characters could somehow find their way into Venom 3 and some or any of the ones listed above might not even show up. But on the other hand, some of these characters have more than a fair chance of appearing in the movie if the film sticks to any of the source material. The film does not have a release date as of yet, so it will be a while longer until we have any confirmation as to whether any of these characters will appear. One thing is for sure, if Eddie and Venom do not duet “Islands in the Stream” in the next film, this writer will riot.