Top 10 Things We Want to See in a Venom Sequel

From a production standpoint, the visual effects team did an impressive job bringing the titular anti-hero to life. You’d think this would pave the way for several fun action sequences, but “Venom” really only has one set piece that stands out. The motorcycle chase is fast-paced, well-choreographed, and makes effective use of Venom’s powers. Everything else, meanwhile, feels like it came off a CGI assembly line. Venom’s climactic battle against Riot is especially disappointing, as we can barely tell them apart. Then again, the action in Sam Raimi’s first “Spider-Man” movie could get hokey at times too, but the filmmakers took a huge step forward in the sequel. Here’s hoping “Venom 2” does the same.

In addition to Venom, Sony reportedly has the rights to about 900 Marvel characters. So naturally, the company is aiming to get their own shared universe off the ground, with “Venom” acting as a launching point. Yet outside of a post-credits scene, “Venom” didn’t really tease upcoming projects. Sony has announced plans for standalone movies centered on Black Cat, Silk, Jackpot, Kraven the Hunter, and Morbius, the Living Vampire. A few subtle Easter eggs hinting at what’s to come would be more than welcome in the “Venom” sequel. Of course, we wouldn’t want Sony to go overboard like they did in “Amazing Spider-Man 2,” which teased a Sinister Six movie that never got made.

With a critical rating of 30% and an audience rating of 88%, “Venom” is one of the most polarizing superhero movies of recent memory. This can largely be attributed to the film’s tone, which some people complained relied too heavily on comedy. Granted, the MCU movies all maintain a playful sense of humor, even when things take a serious turn. “Venom,” however, feels like it’s trying to be an edgier alternative to the MCU. It can understandably be off-putting when the film shifts from being dark and gritty to essentially being a romantic comedy. Since Ruben Fleischer previously made “Zombieland,” we feel he can find a stronger balance of comedy, drama, and horror going forward.

Due to the absence of a certain web-slinger, Venom and Eddie’s backstories in the movie don’t follow the comics to a perfect T. Considering the limitations the filmmakers had to work with, though, they still made a respectable effort to remain faithful to the source material. They even borrowed from a few popular story arcs, most notably “Lethal Protector” and “Planet of the Symbiotes.” As for which comic storylines we’d like to see adapted in the future, “The Enemy Within” not only has the potential to be a great Venom movie, but also a fun crossover event. Based on the first film’s mid-credits scene, however, it’s safe to assume which story arc they’ll tackle next.

Although the character easily could’ve been nothing more than an archetypal love interest, Anne Weying evolves into an active heroine with Michelle Williams giving an overall strong performance. At one point, Anne even comes into contact with the symbiote, leading to a pretty cool minute or so where we finally get to see She-Venom in action. That being said, She-Venom is only onscreen for a minute or so! We know that the movie is called “Venom,” but couldn’t the filmmakers have dedicated a little more time to the titular character’s female equivalent? Ruben Fleischer has expressed interest is exploring She-Venom further in a sequel or a standalone film, which we’d be totally onboard for.

Venom has a multi-layered character arc in the comics that could’ve been spread over multiple movies. Instead the film condenses much of his growth into 112 minutes. Over just a few days, he goes from being a savage alien with little regard for human life to an anti-hero who wants to save the Earth. Since this change is so rushed, Venom’s motivations feel muddled and could be better fleshed out in the sequel. For that matter, we never really understand why Venom becomes so attached to Eddie. Granted, Venom briefly explains that he relates to Eddie because they’re both losers, but in what universe would the awesome Venom and the amazing Tom Hardy be considered losers?

The dynamic between Eddie and Venom was certainly a highlight of the film with Tom Hardy delivering an over-the-top dual performance. Their relationship should remain the focus in the sequel, although it would be a lot more interesting if the two weren’t so in sync. Venom is easily persuaded by Eddie to only hurt bad people and Eddie doesn’t seem at all fazed when Venom straight-up murders robbers or henchmen. What if Venom took things too far and turned on Eddie, creating a Jekyll and Hyde scenario? This would also play into the addiction aspect of the symbiote suit, as Eddie tries to battle his inner demons, but constantly succumbs to the power Venom offers.

“Venom” gave us a taste of what to expect in the sequel with a surprise appearance from Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady. A psychopathic serial killer, Kasady makes it clear that “carnage” looms on the horizon. His screen time might be short, but Harrelson has a ball with his cameo and we can’t wait to see more of him. If Kasady is indeed the sequel’s villain, there’s little doubt that the film will draw inspiration from the “Maximum Carnage” storyline. This comic sees Venom team up with an assortment of characters Sony actually has the rights to, such as Black Cat and Morbius. There may be one notable omission, though…

“Spider-Man 3” sadly may go down as the only live-action film where Spidey and Venom interact. An agreement with Marvel allowed Spider-Man into the MCU, but his role in Sony’s universe remains uncertain. Since Spidey has such strong ties to Venom and several other characters Sony has the rights to, it’ll be a missed opportunity if he never shows up. At the very least, “Venom 2” could give us an Easter egg hinting that Spider-Man might – just might – appear down the line. It’s actually been rumored that “Venom” was rated PG-13 to leave the door open for a Spider-Man crossover, suggesting this tangled web could be unraveled someday.

It was speculated for the longest time that “Venom” would be rated R. Much to the disappointment of some fans, the film’s violence and profanity were tame enough to warrant a PG-13 rating. WatchMojo made an entire video explaining why the Venom sequel needs an R rating if you want a more in-depth analysis. In a nutshell, we want to see a darker, unchained version of Venom who does more than just bite off a couple of people’s heads. We understand that Sony may want to take the PG-13 route so Spider-Man can eventually swing in. If “Deadpool” can coexist with the PG-13 “X-Men” films, though, why can’t “Venom 2” be rated R?