Venom: The Last Dance

Venom: The Last Dance is an upcoming American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom. The sequel to Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) and the fifth film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), it was written and directed by Kelly Marcel. Tom Hardy stars as Eddie Brock and Venom alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, and Stephen Graham. In the film, Brock and Venom are on the run from both of their worlds.

Hardy revealed in August 2018 that he was signed on to appear in a third and final Venom film, and Sony Pictures began development by December 2021, after the second film was released. Marcel and Hardy were writing the script by June 2022, and Marcel was set to make her directorial debut with the film that October. New cast members, including Ejiofor and Temple, joined in mid-2023, and filming began at the end of June 2023 in Spain. Production was halted the next month due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, resumed that November after the strike ended, and was completed by the end of February 2024. The title was revealed a month later.

Venom: The Last Dance is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 25, 2024.

Premise
Eddie Brock and the symbiote Venom go on the run when they are hunted by both of their worlds.

Cast

 * Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom: An investigative journalist who is the host of Venom, an alien symbiote that imbues him with super-human abilities.
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor as a military soldier who is tracking Eddie and Venom and is trying to capture the symbiote.
 * Juno Temple as a scientist who is tracking Eddie and Venom.
 * Rhys Ifans
 * Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen: A convenience store owner who befriended Eddie and Venom.
 * Alanna Ubach
 * Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan: A detective who previously encountered Eddie and is imbued with a symbiote named Toxin.

Additionally, Clark Backo has been cast in an undisclosed role, while Cristo Fernández appears as a bartender, reprising his role from Sony's Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).

Development and pre-production
Star Tom Hardy stated in August 2018 that he had signed on to star in three Venom films. In September 2021, Hardy noted that the producers would have to continue to develop Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) in future films but said they were also interested in crossing over with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) more. Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) director Andy Serkis expressed interest in returning to direct another Venom film, and felt there was more to explore with Venom in future films before the character could meet Spider-Man in a future crossover film, including further exploration of the Ravencroft Institute and other potential villains being held there. In October, Tom Holland said he and producer Amy Pascal had discussed him potentially reprising his MCU role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in future Venom sequels, after he made a cameo appearance in Let There Be Carnage via footage from the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). That December, Pascal said they were in the "planning stages" of Venom 3.

Sony Pictures confirmed the film was in development at CinemaCon in April 2022. In June, Hardy revealed that Kelly Marcel was writing the screenplay after previously working on the prior Venom films and that he was co-writing the story with her. Hardy was set to be paid $20 million for his involvement. Serkis was unable to return as director due to his commitments to Animal Farm, which he had delayed to work on Let There Be Carnage, and Marcel signed on in October to make her directorial debut with the film, which was expected to conclude the Venom trilogy. She was also set to produce the film alongside Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Pascal, Hutch Parker, and Hardy, all doing so through their respective production companies Arad Productions, Matt Tolmach Productions, Pascal Pictures, Hutch Parker Entertainment, and Hardy Son & Baker. Columbia Pictures also produces in association with Marvel Entertainment. Hardy confirmed in February 2023 that pre-production work had begun. Juno Temple entered negotiations to join the cast in an undisclosed "lead role" in April. The next month, filming was expected to begin in June in London, and Chiwetel Ejiofor joined the cast along with Temple. In June, the film was set for release in October 2024.

Filming
Principal photography began on June 26, 2023, at Los Mateos in Cartagena, Spain, as well as at the Calblanque Regional Park, under the working title Orwell. Fabian Wagner serves as the cinematographer after previously serving as an additional cinematographer on Let There Be Carnage. The start of the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in mid-July 2023 resulted in filming being halted. Later that month, the film was set to release on July 12, 2024. When the actors' strike ended in early November 2023, Sony delayed the film to release on November 8, 2024, filling the November 2024 date that the studio had previously reserved for an untitled Marvel film. Production was preparing to resume at that time. Filming resumed on November 16. In February 2024, Clark Backo joined the cast in an undisclosed role, and Temple said at the end of the month that filming was nearly completed.

Post-production
In March 2024, the film was titled Venom: The Last Dance and its release date was moved forward to October 25, 2024. The first teaser trailer, released in June, confirmed Peggy Lu and Stephen Graham were reprising their respective roles as Mrs. Chen and Patrick Mulligan from prior Venom films, as well as the castings of Rhys Ifans, Alanna Ubach, and Cristo Fernández. Ifans previously portrayed Curt Connors / Lizard in Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and No Way Home, while Fernández appeared in No Way Home as a bartender who interacts with Brock after he is transported to the MCU via the multiverse. Germain Lussier at io9 questioned if the appearances of Ifans and Ejiofor, who played Karl Mordo in the MCU, were less concerned about continuity with the MCU and were instead commentary on the multiverse, rather than being connected to their prior roles. Molly Edwards of Total Film was also confused by the reference to the mid-credits scene of No Way Home in the trailer, since the Venom films are set in a separate universe from the MCU. John Moffatt and Aharon Bourland serve as the visual effects supervisors while Greg Baxter is the visual effects producer. Visual effects are provided by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), DNEG, Digital Domain, Rodeo FX, and Territory Studio, while The Third Floor, Inc., Torchlight, and Host provided the previsualization and postvisualization work.

Theatrical
Venom: The Last Dance is scheduled to be theatrically released by Sony Pictures Releasing in the United States on October 25, 2024, in IMAX and other premium large formats (PLFs). The film was originally expected to be released in October 2024 before it was given a release date of July 12, 2024, when Sony adjusted their release schedule due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. After the strike ended, the film's release was delayed to November 8, 2024, before it was moved forward and returned to the October 2024 timeframe.

Home media
Sony signed deals with Netflix and Disney in April 2021 for the rights to their 2022 to 2026 film slate, following the films' theatrical and home media windows. Netflix signed for exclusive "pay 1 window" streaming rights, which is typically an 18-month window and included future Venom films following Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Disney signed for "pay 2 window" rights for the films, which would be streamed on Disney+ and Hulu as well as broadcast on Disney's linear television networks.