Venom: Let There Be Carnage expected to be pushed back to 2022

It sounds like we’ll have to wait a little longer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

It appears we’re going to wait a bit longer to experience Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The movie has faced multiple delays due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The latest one came in early August, when Sony announced the film would be pushed back from September to October 15, 2021. At the time, the delay didn’t seem particularly significant, which gave the impression that Sony was not willing to push the movie back any further.

Unfortunately, according to Vulture, Venom: Let There Be Carnage might be in line for another delay.

Sony was recently present at CinemaCon, an event where studios showcase their upcoming releases. During its presentation, the studio released the first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home and showed off footage from Morbius. However, Venom: Let There Be Carnage — which is two months away — was only part of a footage reel showing some of Sony’s upcoming releases. According to Vulture, the lack of a focus on Let There Be Carnage is because Sony is planning to push the upcoming sequel to January 21, 2022.

Is Venom: Let There Be Carnage getting delayed again?

Interestingly, Morbius is scheduled to hit theaters on January 28, 2022. Vulture reported that Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s possible new release date will be taking Morbius’. However, it’s unclear if the outlet meant to say January 28, or whether Let There Be Carnage could actually take the January 21 date.

Still, given that releasing on said date would put Venom 2 only a week away from Morbius, it’s likely that, if the Venom sequel were indeed to move, Morbius would be delayed as well to avoid the two blockbusters cannibalizing their respective box-office earnings.

As Vulture’s sources explained, Sony was reluctant to announce the delay during CinemaCon so as to not externalize its reported concerns over the upcoming fall movie season:

"“They didn’t want to flash to exhibitors that they’re scared of the early fall.”"

As always, we need to stress that this is not official, and we should wait for Sony to make the announcement to know for sure whether Let There Be Carnage will keep its release date or move to 2022. Having said that, it’s reasonable to assume that a delay is actually in the cards.

Major blockbusters like Black Widow, Jungle Cruise and, perhaps most notably, The Suicide Squad, have either underperformed at the box office or been significant disappointments for their studios. Seeing such results could understandably make Sony want to move Venom 2 to a more box-office friendly era, relatively far away from the current climate (in which people are not entirely comfortable returning to movie theaters).

Could Shang-Chi become the catalyst for Venom 2 and Morbius’ possible delays?

As mentioned, there have been quite a few films released recently that could have sparked Sony’s reported reluctance to have Let There Be Carnage come out in 2021. However, one movie in particular might be the deciding factor in the Venom sequel getting pushed back or remaining in its current release date: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

In its report, Vulture stated that Eternals could be delayed depending on Shang-Chi‘s performance. While we must once again stress that this is not confirmed, it would make sense for Marvel Studios to test the waters with Shang-Chi (given that it’s coming out at a time when box office results can vary greatly) to decide whether to release Eternals in theaters or wait for a time in which people feel more comfortable going back to theaters.

Here’s the thing, though: As the first MCU film to be released exclusively in theaters, Disney and Marvel Studios aren’t the only ones who’ll be keeping a close eye on Shang-Chi‘s theatrical run. Given the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the entire movie industry will be watching the film’s box office performance, as its earnings will be a good metric to know whether it’s safe enough for blockbusters to be released now without the worry of them severely underperforming.

It makes sense for Sony to delay Let There Be Carnage

While the fate of Let There Be Carnage ‘s current release date is still up in the air, it’s understandable if Sony does decide to go through with pushing the movie back, considering the current box-office climate could mark a significant roadblock in Sony’s nascent superhero franchise.

To illustrate why, let’s take a look at the MCU. As mentioned, Marvel Studios is currently facing a big gamble with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. And, as Vulture stated, the studio could be using the movie as a metric to see if future releases like Eternals should be delayed. Using a $100 million+ film to test the theatrical waters is challenging, but it’s a roadblock that Marvel Studios will likely have no issues overcoming.

After more than 10 years of back-to-back, crowd-pleasing and commercially successful films, the MCU has established itself as a proper, trustworthy brand in the eyes of the general audience. Therefore, even if Shang-Chi‘s box-office earnings take a fall due to the ongoing coronavirus situation, the MCU is popular enough to power forward with both new and returning franchises.

https://twitter.com/shangchi/status/1429805628667559936?s=20

Sony, on the other hand, is not in the same position because the studio has not yet established its (non-MCU) Spider-Man franchise as an audience-favorite. The franchise is only two films in (if we count Venom and Into the Spider-Verse), and they weren’t the promising starts that Sony hoped they would be. While Into the Spider-Verse was a critical success, it only made $375 million at the worldwide box office. Venom, meanwhile, was a box-office powerhouse, earning $856 million, but was a critical failure.

That is not a strong foundation upon which a franchise is built. Sony’s Spider-Man universe has not cemented itself as a proven brand that general audiences will flock to simply because of the characters involved. That is where Let There Be Carnage has the opportunity to turn things around.

Unlike 2018’s Venom, which was a relatively self-contained story, Let There Be Carnage will be introducing more franchise-widening characters like Carnage and Shriek. As such, the sequel has the potential to truly cement the Sony-Spider-Man universe as a formidable franchise, and start getting audiences not only familiar, but also connected with the characters and concepts the saga will explore down the line.

Taking its relevance in the overall Sony-Spider-Man universe into consideration, releasing Venom: Let There Be Carnage in a box-office environment where it might underperform could lead to audiences simply forgetting that Venom (and by association future franchise installments like Morbius and the Kraven the Hunter film) is even a thing. Thus, Sony keeping Venom 2 unreleased until the theatrical experience returns to its previous profitability is both understandable and smart.

Currently, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is expected to arrive in theaters on October 15, 2021, and Morbius on January 21, 2022. Stay tuned to Bam Smack Pow for any release-date changes.

Do you think Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius will actually get delayed? If so, do you think it’s a good move? Let us know in the comments below!