Tom Hardy All But Confirms Carnage’s Role In Venom

With each day that passes, it’s looking increasingly likely that Cletus Kasady is the chief antagonist of Venom, Sony and Ruben Fleischer’s adult-oriented spinoff set to carve out a new corner within the Spider-Man universe.

Better known to you, I and the people of New York City as Carnage, the mentally unstable symbiote who goes on to become Eddie Brock’s sworn enemy, Kasady’s alleged role in the film has been well-documented, with many believing that Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Nightcrawler) will be the one to portray Carnage (or even The Chameleon?) come October.

Adding fuel to the fire today is a now-deleted Instagram post from Tom Hardy himself, which features a graphic, almost graffiti-esque rendition of Eddie Brock (Venom) operating under the shadow of Kasady’s warped alter-ego, Carnage. Feast thy eyes on it in the gallery below (which also includes some recent set pics!):

Before we jump to conclusions, it’s important to stress that Ahmed is officially listed as playing Dr. Carlton Drake, head of the nefarious Life Foundation. True to Ruben Fleischer’s original promise, this indicates that Venom will indeed take cues from the Lethal Protector comic series, after all, perhaps incorporating five other symbiotes – namely Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony – into its mysterious story.

The Life Foundation, meanwhile, was first introduced as a shady government body who believed that the Cold War would result in a widespread nuclear holocaust, so even if Drake winds up being a cover-up for Carnage – thereby taking inspiration from Star Trek Into Darkness (Khan) and Spectre (Blofeld) – it’d be foolish to trust Riz Ahmed’s character and his motivations. Hell, according to the latest rumor kicking around, Eddie Brock may call upon the help of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in order to foil Drake’s masterplan.

All will be revealed once Venom scurries into theaters on October 5th.