The time has come for the final installment in the legendary Venom movie trilogy. It feels a little strange even saying that because the movie series isn't even that old, having only debuted as recently as 2018. But there is an honor in knowing when it's time to bow out, and the folks over at Sony have decided that it is that time for everyone's favorite Marvel symbiote to finish his story with Venom: The Last Dance.
Tom Hardy is back as the reluctant hero Eddie Brock, who is now on the run after his escapades with the symbiote within have turned him into an escaped fugitive of the law. But that won't be the only danger that awaits cinema's oddest couple, as the symbiotic inhabitants of Venom's home world have found him, potentially along with their creator: The King in Black, Knull.
It's all going down in Sony's Spider-Verse right now, and if you would like to catch up and see what it's all about, here are the films you should watch before going to see Venom 3.
Venom (2018)
Throwing it back to where the franchise all began, Venom is an origin story unlike any other. Eddie Brock is a man who has everything, until breaking the scoop of a lifetime also results in him losing his fiancée, his job, and his home all in one fell swoop. He believes he has nothing left to live for until an investigation brings him to an alien symbiote named Venom, who bonds with him (and protects him, too).
It's an unlikely partnership, but one that allows Eddie to get the answers he needs while also ensuring that Venom can remain alive. It turns his life even further upside down but it also presents him with an opportunity to do some good and stop the bad guys he couldn't prior to crossing paths with Venom.
Venom is completely bonkers. Though critics didn't love it, audiences did as it went on to gross over $800 million at the box office, with plenty of fans recommending it as a good old-fashioned fun and senseless popcorn flick guaranteed to make you forget about everything else for its respectable 90-minute runtime.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
Eddie Brock returned for another outrageous adventure in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The second installment in the Sony franchise, it focused on the pair's attempts (and failures) to work as a team. While Eddie wanted peace and tranquillity in his life, Venom needed human brains. Yes, that was a real sentence and yes that was a real storyline in the movie.
The crux of the sequel's story, however, is all about the rise of new villain Carnage. Serial killer Cletus Kasady bit Eddie's hand, resulting in the birth of a new symbiote within him, giving him the power to break his longtime girlfriend out of prison so that they could marry and take their revenge on all who wronged them. Thus, Venom and Eddie must put their differences aside to take on their toughest challenge to date.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is darker than its predecessor and a lot more ambitious, too. Fans didn't love it as much as the original, but it's arguably just as important to the franchise.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Your eyes do not deceive you; we have included a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie on the list. Spider-Man: No Way Home might not have taken place in the Sony Pictures Universe of Spider-Man characters (in which the Venom franchise is set) but you'll know of its importance to the film series if you've watched Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
The film explores Peter Parker's attempts to close the can of worms that Mysterio opened when he revealed Spider-Man's true identity to the world in the closing moments of predecessor Spider-Man: Far From Home. What comes next is a larger-than-life affair that pulls in heroes and villains from the multiverse, which includes some major Spider-Man movie returns.
Venom doesn't have a major role, simply appearing at a bar in a post-credits scene, but it's imperative viewing to understand how the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage is resolved. And who knows, it might even play into Venom 3.
Got more time? Here are the rest of the movies in Sony's Spider-Man Universe!
The Venom movies may be their own standalone movie trilogy but they are also a part of Sony's Universe of Spider-Man characters. The studio has been attempting to build this universe since it launched the first Venom movie back in 2018, and it hasn't been particularly successful outside of those films, with a number of other live-action movies receiving criticism from fans and underperforming at the box office.
That being said, as they all exist underneath the one Spider-Verse umbrella, it would make sense if you wanted to visit - or revisit - them ahead of the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
- Morbius (2022)
- Madame Web (2024)
Again, they likely won't impact the plot of Venom 3 in the slightest, as Sony will likely move on from them due to their lackluster box-office performances, but if you were curious to check out what the live-action Spider-Verse was all about - especially before the release of Kraven the Hunter - then they are there as potential options for you to watch.