How Knull could enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Venom: The Last Dance introduced audiences to the all powerful Knull, God of the Symbiotes. The Marvel Comics character has been a force to be reckoned with in the source material for years now and there was certainly enthusiasm to see how he would be portrayed on-screen.

The character received something of a mixed response, but one of the main reasons for that was his lack of screen-time and limited role. With the promise of a more extensive role in the Sony Pictures Universe of Spider-Man Characters going forward, Sony could very easily solve that problem.

*** This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS from Venom: The Last Dance. Don't read on if you do not want the movie spoiled for you. ***

While the villainous Knull was seemingly defeated and his plans foiled by the end of the film, there have been reports that he will be involved in future Sony Marvel films. But how? Let's find out how it could happen. Before we do so, let's recap the ending of the movie so that we can see where things stand in the Sony and Venom franchises.

Knull's role in Venom 3 and a potential key in the post-credits scenes

With the forces of Knull eviscerating Venom's allies in Venom: The Last Dance, the Venom symbiote felt that the only way to ensure Knull never gets free to wreak havoc on the universe is by sacrificing himself. Venom succeeds in destroying himself and most of Knull's minions, the Xenophages, leaving Eddie alone to figure out his life without the symbiote.

There's one mid-credits scene and one after-credit scene; the former which shows that Knull promising to find a way to free himself, and the latter features the bartender from the beginning of the film emerging from the wreckage of the climactic battle between Venom and the Xenophages, where a trace of a symbiote (likely Venom) remains alive.

If one weren't well-versed in the news and updates regarding Marvel films, the inclusion of Knull in Venom: The Last Dance would seem as a waste of talent because the villain wasn't very active in the film itself. However, most fans know how superhero movies take their cues from the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, teasing more to come after the credits and setting up a long term storyline with him as the Big Bad. It's clear that Knull's set to reappear in future Marvel movies outside of the Venom films, but could he appear in the MCU timeline? And would that even be possible while he is still trapped in his own universe?

Could Knull arrive in the MCU in a Spider-Man movie?

Spider-Man: No Way Home, the last film in the MCU's Spider-Man Homecoming trilogy ends with Tom Holland's Peter Parker being forgotten by the whole world, and thus he sets out to re-establish himself both in his personal life and in his superhero life. One post-credit scene for the film shows Eddie and Venom being told of the other heroes within the MCU, before getting sucked away into a mysterious portal (but we now know what that was about from Venom: The Last Dance). Before getting ejected from the MCU, a piece of the Venom symbiote was left behind, thus teasing the possibility of the Tom Holland Spider-Man donning the iconic black suit in a future film.

The plot of Venom: The Last Dance revolved around Knull wanting to acquire a Codex from Venom, a key that would release the villain from his prison deep in space. But with Venom sacrificing himself at the end, it looks like Knull's plans are put on indefinite hold. Right? Wrong!

Besides the reports that Knull will return, what are the in-universe reasons for why Knull will return? As mentioned before, a piece of the Venom symbiote was left behind in the MCU at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which means that despite Venom's sacrifice, there's still a piece of him, and potentially the Codex, left for Knull to get his hands on. It was already established at the beginning of Venom: The Last Dance that Knull, or at least his minions, control portals that can teleport into other spaces; can they jump into the MCU, where Eddie and Venom were during Spider-Man: No Way Home?

If that's the case, Knull would be able to sense the piece of Venom left at the bar in the MCU, so all he'd have to do is send someone to get it, bring it to him, and he's free! He could also retrieve the last piece of symbiote at the end of Venom: The Last Dance too, but again, it's not been confirmed or denied by any sources if that was Venom.

However, I think a more interesting way for Knull to enter the MCU would be if Tom Holland's Spider-Man gets that piece of Venom and bonds with it, which puts a very huge target on Spider-Man's back in future films. Plus, there are rumors that the next Spider-Man film might be titled The King in Black, another name for Knull in the comics, so it could be likely that during the course of that film Knull would enter the MCU and potentially even become the next big bad (or one of the big bad's) in the next big MCU crossover films. Only time will tell!

But what do you think? Could Tom Holland's Spider-Man be the key to Knull's emergence in the MCU? Do you have other theories? Let us know!