For the longest time, fans were troubled by the question of whether Venom had any connection to the MCU. Kevin Feige denied that it was part of Marvel Studios’ mega successful franchise, but Sony’s Amy Pascal seemed to be keen to build a bridge between them, calling the movie an “adjunct” to the MCU. Again, though, Feige maintained that this was not the case.
So, was there any crossover with the folks at Marvel while Venom was being developed? Any back and forth to make sure it lined up with what Marvel were doing with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man? The answer is apparently a big fat no, according to director Ruben Fleischer, who told Metro that Feige and his people had no involvement “in any way.” However, Fleischer’s very keen to work with them on future films.
“I hope that at some point they will be able to crossover. But for us the entire process was self-contained.”
That fits with what we know of the finished product, too. Early screenings have confirmed that there’s no mention of Peter Parker in the film, despite the titular anti-hero’s close ties to the wall-crawler in the comics. For a while, Holland was suspected to make a cameo, while others theorized Venom could be set in the continuity of the Andrew Garfield movies, but neither turned out to be true.
Though, going by the critical reception to Venom, maybe Sony will wish that they had consulted Feige and Marvel Studios on the movie. Reviews have been largely, well, venomous, with critics calling it “poorly conceived,” “painful” and “baffling.” It’s now up to the film’s box office return to ensure that Sony’s plans for a whole host of sequels comes to pass. Perhaps then Fleischer will get his wish to work with the folks at Marvel?
