Venom 2: Why having more than one villain is a bad idea

According to reports, Shriek will now be one of the villains in Venom 2. Here’s why having two villains is a bad idea.

There were a lot of skeptical movie fans (this writer included) but the first Venom movie was a huge success. It’s true:Venom made over $800 million worldwide and, before the project made it’s money, Sony already planned for the next movie.

The post movie-scene showed Woody Harrelson as the deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady. For the non comic book fans, he’s the villain named Carnage – one of Venom and Spider-Man’s most ruthless and psychotic foes. A great antagonist for the sequel.

However, as of recently, it looks like another villain has been added to Venom 2, as Deadline reports that Shriek will also appear. The articles also says that, “A Sony spokesman declined comment, citing the early-days status of the project, which won’t begin principle photography until early next year.”

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Shriek isn’t one of the more popular villains in the Marvel Universe. However, she is a crucial part to the Maximum Carnage story-arc.

During Maximum Carnage, she used her powers to elicit anger and hate in New York City civilians. At times, Spider-Man even had to stop himself from getting too angry. If not for their training and resolve, Captain America and Iron Fist would have succumbed to her powers as well.

The carnage (no pun intended) they caused together was legendary, and it looks like we could be looking at the makings of the Maximum Carnage. If this is the build up, then this is a terrific idea. If they’re going to do this in one movie, it’s going to be a disaster.

A lot of movies have a bad habit of trying to do too much. A perfect example is Spider-Man 3 as, after two movies of keeping things simple, they went off the rails.

There was simply too much going on: Peter Parker had stories involving rivalries with Eddie Brock and Harry Osborn, there was the relationship with Mary Jane and Peter that got rocky, and then there was Sandman, the New Green Goblin, and Venom. All of this made for a overly cluttered mess. Like Dark Phoenix, Maximum Carnage is a story that needs to be done step-by-step. If they add Shriek too early it could ruin the series before it begins.

Shriek and Carnage together could be a great idea. They have a kind of romantic relationship. It’s a bit insane, but romantic nonetheless. Adding her will give Cletus Kasady another layer to his deranged personality. It’s also not the typical loving couple.

That said, it should stop with the two of them. If reports come out that they’re adding Doppleganger, Carrion, Demogoblin and/or anyone else, it could end up being a mess. Hopefully this is just a slow build for the future.

Sony could be on to something special. We’ve heard the reports that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will be in the future for a Venom project. Venom and Spider-Man together is an easy way for Sony to make money. Adding a classic series like Maximum Carnage would put even more butts in seats. Especially if they go the R-rated route and make a gritty project. With that in mind, let’s hope Sony won’t make the mistakes that 20th Century Fox did and add too much at one time.

What do you think? Is adding Shriek to Venom 2 a good idea? Let us know in the comments below!