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Now that Venom: The Last Dance has premiered in theaters, Sony revealed more of its plans for the Lethal Protector and its cinematic universe in relation to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This threequel saw the symbiote god Knull send an army of his alien minions to Earth to harness Venom’s power so Knull could break free from his cosmic prison.
Though The Last Dance was billed as Eddie Brock and Venom’s last adventure together, the way the film sets up future stories involving Knull and the symbiotes implies that their story is far from over. And since Venom has yet to meet Spider-Man, it’s unlikely Sony will let that hype and buildup be for nothing. Now that The Last Dance is finally in cinemas, here’s everything that’s on the horizon for Venom and the rest of these Marvel films.
Venom and Spider-Man
To understand the future of Venom and the Marvel Universe, the elephant in the room must first be addressed: Tom Holland’s next Spider-Man movie. Recent news assured fans that Spider-Man 4 is still in development, with Shang-Chi‘s Destin Daniel Cretton replacing Jon Watts as director. Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers will return to pen Spidey’s next adventure, making sure his character and story stay consistent.
Given Venom’s relationship with Spider-Man, it all seems like his latest adventure will lead to the events of Spider-Man 4. The Lethal Protector did leave a drop of the Venom symbiote in the Sacred Timeline in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which seems to set up Peter encountering the black ooze at some point. A rumor from Cosmic Circus does state that Venom will finally face the web-slinger in battle in the latter’s fourth film.
The next Spider-Man film will premiere after Avengers: Doomsday, but before Avengers: Secret Wars. This schedule strongly implies that Spidey’s next adventure will be affected by the universe-changing events of Doomsday, which could allow Spidey and Venom’s worlds to collide once more. Either way, Marvel and Sony are setting up Peter to bond with the Venom symbiote and don his iconic black costume from the comics. Whether or not this will occur before or during Avengers: Secret Wars is unknown.
The King in Black
Rumors state that Tom Holland’s fourth solo film will feature Knull as the main villain and will be titled “Spider-Man: King in Black.” This implies it will adapt Marvel Comics’ “King in Black” crossover storyline, in which Knull leads an invasion of Earth with an army of symbiote dragons and even a pair of Celestials under his control. Such a threat assembled the likes of the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four in retaliation. But even heroes as powerful as Doctor Strange, Sentry, and the Silver Surfer could hardly contain this primordial evil.
If Knull is the villain in Spider-Man 4, it seems likely that Peter Parker will have to team up with Venom, as well as some other warriors, just to stand a chance, in the vein of Deadpool & Wolverine. Since Venom is being portrayed as a hero rather than a villain of Spider-Man, it makes sense that Knull would be the enemy that brings these two together (especially since Carnage is out of the picture).
Despite the scope of the source material, it’s unclear if Spider-Man’s film will bring all these superheroes together, as the filmmakers don’t want to take too much attention away from the web-slinger. Nevertheless, Marvel Studios accomplished a similar feat with Captain America: Civil War while scaling down the cast for the big screen.
Many fans have been aching for a more grounded, street-level follow-up to Spidey’s last three films, especially after the Multiverse played such a huge part in No Way Home. Though Knull is an Avengers-level threat, the film’s writers still have the opportunity to explore more of Peter’s dark side, especially if he bonds with Venom. Peter has also lost his Aunt May and was forced to wipe everyone’s memory of his existence. Knull’s appearance could add to this, as Peter’s mistakes come back to haunt him with more Earth-shattering consequences. This threat could also bring out additional heroes in New York to battle Knull if his army attacks the city.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
For the most part, Sony’s cinematic universe has been a misfire. However, given all the time and money Sony spent on introducing characters like Morbius and Kraven, they may not wish to see them go to waste. Though most of them haven’t appealed to audiences, the writers at Marvel Studios could remedy that if they join Venom and Spidey’s team. Just look at how much better Electro was portrayed thanks to their work in No Way Home.
Rumors have circulated online that Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, will make her long-awaited debut in Spider-Man 4, with Sydney Sweeney playing the feline burglar. Sweeney already has a standing relationship with Sony after starring in Madame Web, so it’s not surprising that they’d consider her. Black Cat was also supposed to appear in the canceled Sony film Silver & Black, so it is clear Sony has had plans for this fan-favorite character for a while. However, @MyTimeToShineHello stated on X that Marvel is allegedly looking for a new female lead to act as a foil to Peter Parker.
Spider-Man 4 begins filming in the UK at the end of May 2025, and they're casting a new female lead as well as a new male lead to serve as a foil for Peter pic.twitter.com/ijCvZFE3Dt
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) September 25, 2024
According to insider Daniel Richtman, Miles Morales is also rumored to appear in the MCU in Spider-Man 4. His character’s existence has been hinted at multiple times so far, and his popularity only grows with Sony’s ongoing, animated Spider-Verse trilogy. It seems like it’s only a matter of time before he becomes the MCU’s second web-slinger, and Tom Holland himself has been keen on having Miles take over for Peter as Spider-Man.
Sony also has Kraven the Hunter coming out in December, which will finally bring one of Spidey’s greatest adversaries to the big screen. Following the negative reception of Morbius and Madame Web, the studio ordered reshoots for Kraven the Hunter, so it seems Sony has already changed tactics with its approach to its cinematic universe. However, it remains unclear if said franchise will live on afterward and if Kraven will actually hunt everyone’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.
Venom: The Last Dance is now in theaters.
