Why Ruben Fleischer Included That Venom Post-Credits Scene

Though it remains to be seen whether the new Venom movie will manage to land a sequel, it’s long been clear that director Ruben Fleischer and Sony Pictures harbor intentions for Eddie Brock’s first standalone film to be the first part of a larger saga. And since this is a comic book movie we’re talking about, a post-credits teaser was inevitable.

Sure enough, the clip in questions has now made its way online, and as per previous reports, the footage sees Tom Hardy’s title character meeting with one Cletus Kasady, played by Woody Harrelson. It had long been speculated that Fleischer’s old Zombieland collaborator would taking on the role of the murderous Carnage, but this newly leaked scene confirms it once and for all when the incarcerated Cletus mentions his future alter ego by name, albeit in the sense that “there’s gonna be carnage.”

Wordplay noted, and speaking to CinemaBlend, Fleischer seems pretty excited about Harrelson being the one to bring this cherished villain to the screen.

“He was the first person I thought of to play Cletus Kasady. And what will be fun is, if you think about Woody in Natural Born Killers, and that darkness and that menace that he can bring to a serial killer like Cletus Kasady, you know, he can go real dark and explore that. Carnage is going to be… just thinking about Venom pitting off against Carnage is just so exciting. And hopefully fans leave the movie really looking forward to that next one. Because I think also just seeing Tom and Woody go head to head, you know, those are two great actors that I think can really create some exciting scenes.”

While there’s certainly the potential for some real chemistry between these two acting talents, it’s hard to say what the future holds for Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters. Though Venom seems on course for a strong opening weekend, the bludgeoning the film’s currently receiving from critics raises the question of how many viewers will be keen for a second installment. Then again, bad reviews have often failed to stop comic book movies from getting sequels, and Sony already seem pretty committed to the idea of building their own equivalent of the MCU.

In any case, with Venom in theaters as of today, you can decide for yourself whether this symbiote saga is worth continuing.