Watch: Venom: Let There Be Carnage Promo Might Tease Spider-Man Connection

Venom: Let There Be Carnage has taken its sweet time in getting here, but it’s finally just a couple of weeks away from arriving in theaters. Sony is in the midst of its last marketing push for the movie, hence this latest promo for the Tom Hardy-starring sequel, released to promote the fact that tickets are now on sale. While it’s mostly made up of footage we’ve seen before, the 30-second trail does contain some new material, too.

The promo opens with Hardy’s Eddie Brock being met with a creepy welcome from Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady, as well as some shots of Naomie Harris’ Shriek using her powers. We then get an intriguing brief shot of someone’s hand — possibly Cletus’ — slamming down on a spider that is crawling across the table in front of them. In a movie that’s a spinoff of the Spider-Man mythos, there’s no way this is not a deliberate reference to Peter Parker.

Check out the promo for yourself via the tweet below:

The Spider-Man connection is deepened by the promo’s tagline. “The universe is expanding,” the voiceover guy booms. This obviously mostly refers to Sony’s Spider-Man universe, which is about to get much bigger over the coming few months, what with Venom 2 and then Morbius premiering next March. However, it’s worth remembering those teases from prior trailers that hint the Sony-verse could actually be one and the same with the MCU.

Tom Hardy has recently said that he would be open to Venom being more closely linked to the Marvel Studios franchise but indicated that these movies need to grow a bit first before a proper crossover — like his character battling Tom Holland’s webslinger — can be considered. But we’ll have to see what surprises Venom: Let There Be Carnage brings when it arrives exclusively in cinemas from October 1st.