Numerous film and television productions have been forced to shut down in the last week due to the coronavirus pandemic. One of the major ones is Venom 2, of course, which was shooting in San Francisco before joining the list of delayed projects. But photographer Greg Williams, who was hired to take behind-the-scenes snaps, captured some happier times with the cast, including stars Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson, before things got bad.
The pics – seen below – don’t really provide any insight into the upcoming movie, but the biggest revelation is Harrelson’s hair, which thankfully has improved from the terrible red wig he was wearing in the post-credit scene in Venom. Aside from that, they’re not terribly exciting, but you can see both shots for yourself down below.
Having Harreleson’s Carnage as the villain here makes sense, considering he’s one of the most popular and dangerous baddies in the Spider-Man universe. He’s so popular, in fact, that Sony reportedly wants to have him in multiple movies after Venom 2. Personally, I’ve been waiting to see him in a Spider-Man film for years, with hopes that Jim Carrey would play Cletus Kasady.
That obviously didn’t happen, of course, but Harrelson is a nice consolation prize. While I didn’t love his performance in War for the Planet of the Apes, his psychotic turn in Out of the Furnace, especially that opening scene, is more than enough evidence to suggest he’ll be great as Carnage.
Still, a good deal of the film’s success will come down to its tone. The first movie was refreshingly silly and felt very much like a mid-2000s superhero pic with Hardy absolutely going for it. And while Riz Ahmed’s role was painfully generic, it still had enough thrills to keep me engaged.
I’m assuming the involvement of Carnage means the sequel will be a little darker. However, if we’re to use that post-credits scene as an indication of what awaits us, Harrelson’s performance is either going to be ridiculously over the top or disturbingly sinister. Probably the former, though, as it was reported that the movie lost its R-rating due to Birds of Prey’s disappointing box office.
In any case, we should find out soon enough, as Venom 2 is scheduled to hit theaters on October 2nd. Although, now with this delay, the sequel might have to be moved to 2021. Watch this space for more.