Well, it's time to say goodbye to the Venom franchise. Sony Pictures' unique take on the classic Spider-Man villain has gripped audiences throughout the past few years, earning positive fan response and high box office takings (in spite of incredibly negative critical reviews!). But all good things must come to an end it seems, and that includes the journey between Eddie Brock and the most talkative symbiote you ever did meet.
Tom Hardy returns for one more insane adventure, in which entities from Venom's home world arrive to seemingly take him home. It's an ambitious prospect, especially because anyone who has ever gone up against our infamous symbiotic duo hasn't come out on the winning end. But still, if anyone could do it, it would be Knull.
Venom: The Last Dance is an emotional thrill-ride and if you have seen it already, it has likely left you with a lot of questions. But perhaps not as many questions as the film's post-credits scenes. Yes, the film has two post-credits scenes, and they are really quite interesting. With that, let's give you some answers.
Before we continue, be warned that this article will contain MAJOR SPOILERS from Venom: The Last Dance. If you have not yet seen the movie and would prefer it wasn't spoiled for you, don't read on.
The Venom 3 mid-credits scene teases Knull's return
While the Xenophages were the imminent threat in Venom: The Last Dance, they were acting on behalf of their creator Knull, the King in Black. The infamous Marvel Comics villain made his live-action debut in the opening of the movie when he revealed that he had been imprisoned years ago by the symbiotes, so he sent the Xenophages to retrieve the one thing that could free him: The Codex created when a host and a symbiote form a complete bond (after the latter revives the former).
That Codex was inside of Eddie Brock, who had been revived by his own symbiote Venom in the concluding act of the first movie in the trilogy. Unfortunately for Knull, his Xenophages weren't able to retrieve it, as Venom and Eddie defeated the monsters when the symbiote seemingly sacrificed himself by merging with them and dragging them all under an acid shower.
But one victory - no matter how significant it was - doesn't mean that the war with Knull is over. The mid-credits scene is a stark reminder of that, as we see the evil being in his cave on Klyntar plotting his revenge. That scene also gives us our first full look at his face and it's a terrifying sight. But not half as terrifying as the promise he makes.
Knull comments on how Earth's champion (Venom) is gone, leaving everyone in the universe vulnerable. Though he doesn't have the Codex, he is more motivated than ever to escape, remarking:
"The King in Black is awake! Everyone will burn and you will watch."
With that in mind, it is clear that Knull is being set up as a Big Bad of the Sony Pictures Universe of Spider-Man characters. That's the same universe that consists of the Venom movies, Morbius, Madame Web, and the upcoming Kraven the Hunter. It's not yet clear if these characters will return in some kind of Avengers-like crossover to stop him, but he definitely is set to play a Thanos-like role to this franchise going forward.
This is something that writer-director Kelly Marcel herself has stated, telling GamesRadar that he's "way too big to be one and done", adding:
"So, it's just a little introduction to him. It's just a kind of taster of where he might potentially be able to go with his own movies, in the same way that they introduced Thanos very carefully through the Marvel movies."
While it doesn't seem like a fourth Venom movie will be happening anytime soon, this very much implies that it's only the beginning for Knull's reign of terror on the Sony Spider-Verse movies.
The Area 51 post-credits scene suggests Venom's story might not be over
The strangest of the two post-credits scenes came when the bartender, played by Ted Lasso's Cristo Fernández, emerged from the rubble of Area 51. The place had been destroyed during the film's final battle, but the bartender survived, having been held in containment since General Rex Strickland took him there from the bar he ran into Venom in.
As he wandered through the chaos in search of a way home, we see the containment jar in which Strickland had trapped the leftover residue of the Venom symbiote from the bar. The jar has been smashed and there were sparks coming from it, very much implying that the symbiote had broken free. And just as we put that together, a cockroach crawls past it. A shiny, black cockroach.
Earlier in the movie, Dr. Teddy Payne spoke of how cockroaches have a way of staying alive through the centuries, surviving the big bang and any other dangers that come their way. So the actual appearance of a cockroach in the final shot of the movie, right by the container that housed what was left of the Venom symbiote, is pretty significant. As in Venom may have survived kind of significant.
If part of Venom has survived, does that mean all of Venom has survived? We'll have to wait and see, but the big question is: If Venom is alive, will he search for Eddie Brock in the hopes of bonding with him once again? One thing is for sure: Nothing would make fans happier than that.
Tom Hardy is opening to returning to play the role one day, having been vocal about his desire for Venom and Spider-Man to cross paths on-screen at some point, so there has always been hope of a Venom return happening at some point. Now, there is an explanation for how is can happen, too.
Venom: The Last Dance is now playing in theaters.