Marvel Studios/Sony
Regardless of the subpar critical and audience reception, the Tom Hardy-starring vehicle Venom still somehow racked up tons of money at the box office — $865 million, to be exact, which is about $200 million more than Justice League made — which gave Sony all the ammunition they needed to greenlight a sequel.
That sequel, which will be released in theaters next year, is set to introduce Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady (a.k.a. Carnage) who was teased in a Venom post-credit scene.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdKpDCwNzdc
But while Venom 2 looks set to introduce one iconic Spidey villain, it’s still unlikely to introduce the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man himself, who is still in the midst of his own MCU-story arc.
However, according to Venom director Ruben Fleischer, it’s only a matter of time until Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Tom Hardy’s Venom cross paths and that is exactly what Sony is “building towards”.
Speaking to Fandom, Fleischer — who will not be helming the sequel as directorial duties have been passed onto Andy Serkis — said Sony is “building towards” a crossover event with the two famed web-slinging rivals.
“That’s where it’s all going to lead,” Fleischer said of a Spider-Man and Venom crossover film.
“[In] the comics, he evolved from Spider-Man but because of the Marvel-Sony thing we weren’t able to that. And so the thing I think it’s building towards, and will be exciting to see, is when they actually do confront each other,” he said.
While Fleischer’s comments are no surprise, it gives fans a better understanding of just how intent Sony is on bringing these two iconic characters together, with or without the help of Marvel Studios.
***
Eric is a New York City-based writer who still isn’t quite sure how he’s allowed to have this much fun for a living and will tell anyone who listens that Gotham City is canonically in New Jersey. Contact him on Twitter @eric_ital or via email eric@brobible.com