Less than a day after Venom: The Last Dance began streaming on Netflix, the movie quickly shot to the top of the streamer’s top 10 trending movies list. Clearly, a lot of people who didn’t get a chance to watch the third Venom movie in theaters are now taking the opportunity to watch it at home.
Written and directed by Kelly Marcel, who also wrote the story with star Tom Hardy, this third movie finds journalist Eddie Brock (Hardy) on the run with his new alien pal that sometimes takes over his body. It’s the first time Marcel has directed, but she also wrote the first two Venom films and worked closely with Hardy on all three as a producer.
As the title suggest, Venom: The Last Dance is intended to be the third and final movie with Hardy’s iteration of Eddie Brock. And yet—spoiler alert—the Venom: The Last Dance ending comes with a post-credits scene that reveals that, while it seemed Venom was dead, in fact, a small piece of the symbiote survived, and will continue to live in via a cockroach. As Decider contributer Jesse Hassenger put it, the Venom: The Last Dance ending “leaves the door open for more symbiote shenanigans.”
So is there a Venom 4 movie happening?
Sorry to disappoint, but we’re a long ways off from a Venom 4 release date. As of now, there is not a Venom 4 movie in development—at least, not one that the public knows about. Right now, it doesn’t seem likely that you’ll see Tom Hardy back as Eddie Brock in a Venom 4 movie, because he was only under contract for three movies.
That said, Venom: The Last Dance director and screenwriter Kelly Marcel has hinted that Marvel plans to feature the villain known as Knull (played by Andy Serkis in a brief appearance in the moive) in future films.
“One movie could never do justice to Knull,” Marcel said in a 2024 email interview with IGN. “We were always aware of Knull, but knew that we needed to lay the foundation of the Venom character, and his relationship with Eddie, before introducing him. This is just the beginning for Knull.”
Marcel clarified in a separate interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she “doesn’t know” whether there will be a Venom 4 movie. “We were asked to do three, we’ve delivered three, and who knows what the future holds,” Marcel said. “I hope that we’ve laid groundwork for them in this third movie with other characters and other symbiotes and bad guys that they can run with, should they choose. But this is the last one for Venom and Eddie.”
Marcel added, “We have definitely given it forethought, so we definitely know what those stories could be, should [Sony] want them.”
It’s not clear if star Tom Hardy is on board for future Venom movies, or if he may ever appear in a Tom Holland Spider-Man movie. In a red carpet interview with AP Entertainment, Hardy shot down rumors that he would appear as Venom in Spider-Man 4.
“I don’t see [Venom] in the next Spider-Man movie, because I’d have the script and I don’t have that,” he told the reporter with a laugh.
In other words, never say never, but it’s not looking good for future Venom movies starring Tom Hardy. And if there is going to be a Venom 4 movie, it’s going to be a long wait for that Venom 4 movie release date. Don’t hold your breath!