This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance
Summary
Kelly Marcel’sVenom: The Last Dancebrings theVenomtrilogy to a close, and six years after Ruben Fleischer’sVenomkicked off the Sony Spider-Man Universe, the studio is closing the door on its starting quarterback…for now. WhileVenom: The Last Dancelives up to the ‘last’ part of its name in terms of Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the Venom symbiote’s time together, there’s already been plenty of talk about how/when they could return.
The SSU has slowly been building its own roster of antiheroes in the shadow of Tom Holland’s role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but as thingsmove forward onSpider-Man 4, there are questions about whether a full-blown crossover between these worlds is on the way. There’s been speculation about Holland appearing in aVenommovie since Fleischer’s first outing, but three movies later, there’s a Spidey-shaped hole in the Venomverse.
Is Spider-Man in Venom: The Last Dance?
Despite rampant theorizing and the odd tease from Hardy and Holland themselves, it’s official that Spider-Man isnotinVenom: The Last Dance. More importantly, no version of the wall-crawling hero makes an appearance. This also shoots down theories that the SSU could bring Andrew Garfield’s iteration of Peter Parker back into the fold. Although it’s never been clear what universe the SSU is set in and whether this world has its own Spider-Man,2022’s malignedMorbiushinted that it was set in the same continuity asThe Amazing Spider-Man.
With theR-ratedKraven the Hunter on the Way, the SSU is closer than ever to its Sinister Six but miles away from its own Spider-Man. TheMorbiuspost-credit scene even brought Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture over from the MCU, and with a little tweaking, the Sinister Six of this world could realistically feature Morbius, Vulture, Kraven, and Venom. There were also talks about a Black Cat and Silver Sable movie once upon a time, while dumping these villains in the MCU could also bring Michael Mando’s Scorpion back after hisSpider-Man: Homecomingtease.
Venom: The Last Dance’s endingdoes nothing to set any of this up; instead, it teases another movie where Knull is the threat instead of Spider-Man. Even though fans were hopeful for a last-minute cameo from Tom Holland,Venom: The Last Dance’s first post-credit scene tries teasing the King in Black as a Thanos-level threat that will presumably unite the SSU’s antiheroes. The second features Cristo Fernández’s bartender in the ruins of Area 51, seemingly coming across a symbiote-infused cockroach thatcouldbe a convoluted way to reunite Eddie with Venom. All of this is without so much as a musical cue of the Spider-Man theme tune.
Venom: The Last Dance Wastes its Cameo Potential
There were plenty of problems withVenom: The Last Dance, but in terms of building the future of the SSU, the post-credit scenes feel like they do little to catapult the story forward. Some say they’re already sick ofKnull as a supposed multiversal threat, while the whole premise of having a Spider-Man-free franchise of villain movies was in the hope that it would eventually build to a crossover movie featuring Holland’s hero.
Venom: The Last Dancegoes in the other direction and undoes the pieces already in place. Picking up withSpider-Man: No Way Home’s post-credit sceneof Venom in the MCU, it quickly retcons its potential to dump Eddie back in his own universe. The movie also decides to ignore the fact that a piece of the Venom symbiote was left behind in the MCU, leaving a glimmer of hope thatSpider-Man 4will bring Hardy’s Brock to Earth-616 and reunite him with his old pal. Hardy has (obviously) downplayed the idea of him appearing inSpider-Man 4, tellingAP Entertainment:
I don’t see him in the next Spider-Man movie because I’d have the script. And I don’t have that.”
Hardy couldn’t tell fans even if he was inSpider-Man 4, but again, it feels like a missed opportunity.Venom: The Last Danceending in Peter Parker’s stomping ground in New York City was the perfect setup for Eddie to cross paths with some version of Peter Parker andset Venom up as a vital part ofAvengers: Secret Wars. Despite reshoots in New York leading to frantic speculation that Holland could be stopping by for a last-minute cameo,The Last Danceleaves audiences disappointed due to a lack of clarity on where the SSU is supposed to be heading.
It’s not that Holland crossovers haven’t been discussed before. Back in 2019,Collider’s Jay Washington claimed that Holland had filmed a scene for the originalVenom,but Disney made Sony cut it. Disney seems keen to keep the MCU and SSU separate but withVenom: The Last Dance’s commercial and critical panning, that might be wise. Knull is about as big as they come in terms of otherworldly threats from Marvel Comics, and while the storyline ofSpider-Man 4is currently being kept under wraps, it’s unlikely that the MCU will dedicate a whole movie to the sprawling plotlines of the SSU.
For all its faults, at leastMorbiusmade some headway byplanting Keaton’s Vulture in the SSUand suggesting a team-up against Spider-Man. Having Keaton reprise his role as something of an SSU Nick Fury would’ve done a lot to bring things together, whereas the Knull tease felt like a stinger for a villain that people hardly care about. For those who tuned intoVenom: The Last Danceand hoped to see Holland suit up ahead ofSpider-Man 4, a lack of Spider-Man cameos was just another thing to add to the movie’s list of misses.
