Not long after the release of Let There Be Carnage, Andy Serkis admitted that he was hoping to be invited back for Venom 3. Given that his sequel was a vast improvement on Ruben Fleischer’s opening installment, most fans were receptive to the idea and fully expecting the motion capture pioneer to return. In a surprising move, though, that won’t be the case.
As per Deadline, Kelly Marcel will complete her rise through the behind-the-camera ranks to call the shots on the Sony threequel, having written both of the previous films and served as a producer on the second. Not only that, but she’s a longtime friend and collaborator of leading man, co-writer, and fellow producer Tom Hardy, so much so that he’s got her name tattooed on his body.
While Marcel hasn’t helmed a feature-length project as of yet (although her debut Ferryman is in the works), she’s been a key part of the Venom saga since the very beginning, so it’s a logical progression of sorts. That being said, t’s still a risk to hand a relatively inexperienced filmmaker the reins on a mega budget superhero threequel, especially when the first and second chapters laughed in the face of critical apathy to earn a combined total north of $1.3 billion at the box office.
It’s a little disappointing to discover that Serkis isn’t coming back, because he acquitted himself well on what was comfortably his biggest and most daunting project. If Venom 3 is indeed the end of the line for Hardy’s Eddie Brock, though, then there isn’t anyone more qualified to steer what should hopefully be a satisfying conclusion to the one and so far only branch of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that hasn’t found itself dragged over hot coals by the fandom at one stage or another.
