Venom: The Last Dance

After being transported to Earth-199999 by Doctor Strange's spell, Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote are drunk in a bar in Mexico. As the bartender fills them in about Thanos and the Infinity Stones, they are forced back to their home universe on Earth-688, to their world's version of the same bar. Still on the run after their recent battle with Carnage, the apparent murder of Patrick Mulligan makes international headlines with Eddie, who is falsely branded a prime suspect. He decides to set out for New York City to meet an old acquaintance in an attempt to clear his name — not before unwittingly leaving a bit of Venom at the bar. Meanwhile, a creature known as a Xenophage has begun tracking Eddie and Venom. Soldier Rex Strickland oversees Imperium, a government operation at the site of the soon-to-be-decommissioned Area 51 for the capture and study of other symbiotes that have fallen to Earth. Mulligan, revealed to have survived his encounter with Carnage, is captured by Strickland. He is bonded with one of many contained symbiotes and questioned by Imperium researchers Dr. Teddy Paine and Sadie "Christmas" to learn about the symbiotes' purpose on Earth. While traveling via the side of an airplane bound for New York City, Eddie and Venom are attacked by the Xenophage and forced to drop into the Nevada desert. Venom explains that Xenophages were sent to Earth by symbiote creator Knull to retrieve a Codex, forged when a symbiote resurrects its host; the Codex will free Knull from the prison the symbiotes trapped him in long ago. Having previously revived Eddie, Venom and Eddie are now carrying a Codex. After escaping both the Xenophage and Strickland and his team, Eddie hitches a ride to Las Vegas with a family of alien enthusiast hippies. Mulligan's symbiote informs Strickland of Knull's intentions with the Codex, which can only be destroyed if either Eddie or Venom dies. In Las Vegas, Eddie and Venom are ambushed by both the Xenophage and Strickland's team. The pair are separated and taken to Area 51. Sadie, sympathetic to the symbiotes, frees Venom, who re-bonds with Eddie after Strickland shoots him. This attracts the Xenophage, which devours Mulligan in the battle. Venom has the other confined symbiotes released, which bond with Sadie and the other scientists to fight off the Xenophage. Knull is signalled that the Codex has been found and sends more Xenophages to Earth, overwhelming the symbiotes. Realizing he must sacrifice himself to destroy the Codex and save the universe, Venom merges with the Xenophages, leads them to the acid tanks, and bids Eddie farewell. A mortally wounded Strickland has a change of heart about the symbiotes and sets off his grenades to destroy the Xenophages. Teddy bonds with a symbiote to save Sadie from the resulting explosion. Eddie wakes up in a hospital, where a military official informs him that his brave actions at Area 51 have earned him an expungement, under the condition of keeping the events a secret. Eddie travels to New York City and visits the Statue of Liberty to honor Venom, who had desired to see the statue. In a mid-credits scene, Knull declares that the universe is no longer safe from him now that Venom has fallen. In a post-credits scene, the Mexican bartender—who was taken into custody by Strickland after Eddie left—escapes the burned remains of Area 51. Nearby, a black cockroach crawls out next to a broken vial that previously contained a sample of the Venom symbiote. == 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. Jack Brady portrays Jim, an Imperium security guard who bonds with a brown-colored symbiote, while Jade Nicholson-Lamb portrays Jade Clark, an Imperium lab technician who bonds with a violet-colored symbiote. Reid Scott, who previously portrayed Dr. Dan Lewis in the first two Venom films, returns as the shadowy head of Imperium. == Production ==

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). Neither Holland nor his character appeared in the finished film. Adam B. Vary clarified in December 2024 that, according to one Sony source, The Walt Disney Company never precluded Sony from using Holland for their films; it simply never happened due to the studio feeling that audiences wouldn't accept Holland's Spider-Man appearing in non-MCU films, especially after the releases of No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) and the MCU's multiverse. 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, but ultimately portrayed the character Knull in the film. 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 was cast as Rex Strickland, when Temple was confirmed to have been cast. In June, the film was set for release in October 2024. The film features Knull, the King in Black of the symbiotes who was introduced to the source material in 2018. The filmmakers were always kept aware of the character, but decided they had to lay the foundations for Venom's character and his relationship with Eddie Brock before featuring the Marvel supervillain. As such, they looked for inspiration from the Venom comic books by David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, the latter two being Knull's creators, leading Sony to hire them for an advisory relationship and allowing at least Cates to read the screenplay. Cates and Stegman expected monetary compensation for the inclusion of Knull. 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. Mark Sanger edited the film, which was completed at the Cary Grant Theatre at the Sony Pictures Studios lot in early October 2024. == Music ==

By August 2024, Dan Deacon composed the score for the film. == Release ==

Theatrical Venom: The Last Dance held its world premiere at the Regal Times Square theater in New York City on October 21, 2024, 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. ==Reception==

Box office Venom: The Last Dance grossed $139.8million in the United States and Canada, and $339.2million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $478.9million. In the United States and Canada, Venom: The Last Dance was released alongside Conclave, and was projected to gross around $65 million from 4,125 theaters in its opening weekend. It went onto debut to $51 million, finishing in first but marking the lowest opening of the series. Deadline Hollywood attributed the underperformance to the ongoing Yankees–Dodgers World Series and superhero genre fatigue. Nevertheless, the film's international box office gross would help offset its weaker performance at the North American box office. The film then made $26.1 million in its second weekend (dropping 49% from its first weekend), and $16.2 million in its third weekend (dropping another 37%), retaining the top spot for three consecutive weeks. The Last Dance was finally dethroned in its fourth weekend, making $7.3 million and finishing second behind newcomer Red One. Critical response Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B–" on an A+ to F scale (the lowest of the trilogy), while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 73% overall positive score, with 55% saying they would "definitely recommend" it. The Daily Telegraph Robbie Collin gave it 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "a yammeringly moronic, teenage-boy-pandering eyesore of the old school, with little to offer any viewer whose age or counting ability exceeds the low 20s." He concluded, "As last dances go, it's the Macarena in film form." Kevin Maher of The Times also gave it 1 out of 5 stars, saying, "it's hugely dispiriting to watch Hardy sink so low. From the elegant character work of Stuart: A Life Backwards and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy to a blank-eyed Marvel meathead whose greatest line is: 'We've got to get the codex as far away as possible! Alci Rengifo of Entertainment Voice wrote, "Venom as a franchise works as a comic book cousin of Lethal Weapon or any other popular series featuring an entertaining, mismatched duo." Amy Nicholson of The New York Times said, "Honestly, I'd rather watch Eddie and Venom dicker over pizza toppings than team up for something as banal as saving the planet." Jake Cole of Slant Magazine gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, writing, "As the film progresses, it consistently escalates the stakes and scale of its action, which doesn't devolve into incomprehensible CG murk as it hurtles toward the climax." The Independent Clarisse Loughrey wrote, "It's hard to say how these films will be remembered in the grand scheme of comic book history, but, with The Last Dance, we can at least be reminded that sometimes they actually managed to have fun with these things", and gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Accolades == Viewership ==

According to data from Showlabs, Venom: The Last Dance ranked first on Netflix in the United States during the week of 24 February–2 March 2025. == Future ==

Ahead of the film's release in October 2024, Kelly Marcel said that while The Last Dance concludes the story arc of Eddie Brock and Venom, it sets up the character Knull for future appearances within the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) and is the beginning of the character's story. but Variety disputed that claim and said that since Sony had not technically established a shared universe, they would continue to make films based on Spider-Man characters. In February 2026, it was revealed an animated Venom film was in pre-production with Tom Hardy attached as a producer, although it is unknown if he will be reprising the role of the title character or if it will be set in the same universe as the live-action films. == See also ==