Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom, produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the second film in Sony’s Spider-Man universe and the sequel to Venom (2018). The film was directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, based on a story he wrote with Tom Hardy, who stars as Eddie Brock and Venom alongside Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham and Woody Harrelson. In the film, Eddie and the alien symbiote Venom must confront serial killer Cletus Cassady (Harrelson) when he becomes host to a branch of Venom called Carnage.
Venom was intended by Sony to be the start of a new shared universe, and plans for a sequel began during the production of the first film. Harrelson was cast for a brief appearance as Cletus at the end of Venom, with the intention that he would become the villain Carnage in the sequel. Official work on the sequel began in January 2019, with Hardy and Harrelson confirmed to return as writers, along with Marcel. Serkis was hired as director that August, in part because of his experience working with CGI and motion capture technology, which was an important part of portraying Venom and Carnage in the film. Filming took place at Livesden Studios in England from November 2019 to February 2020, with additional filming in San Francisco in February. The title was announced in April 2020. Marco Beltrami was hired to compose the film’s score, replacing Ludwig Göransson from the previous film.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage premiered in London on September 14, 2021, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 1 after multiple delays from its original October 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it grossed less than its predecessor, the film was a box office success, grossing $506.9 million worldwide and becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2021. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, chemistry between Eddie and Venom. , mid-credits scene, and Hardy and Harrelson’s acting, but criticized the screenplay, while the short runtime drew divided opinions. The third Venom film is scheduled for release on November 8, 2024.

Details

In 1996, a young Cletus Cassady watches helplessly as his lover Frances Barrison is taken to the Ravencroft Institute at the St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children. Along the way, Frances uses her sonic scream powers to attack young police officer Patrick Mulligan. Mulligan shoots Francis in the eye and his ear is hurt by his screams. Unbeknownst to Mulligan, who believes he has killed her, Frances is still taken to Ravencroft, where her powers are limited.
In the present day, Mulligan asks Eddie Brock, now a detective and journalist, to speak with serial killer Cletus at San Quentin State Prison, as Cletus refuses to speak to anyone but Eddie. After the visit, Eddie’s alien symbiote Venom deduces where Cletus is hiding the bodies of his victims, giving Eddie a substantial career boost. Eddie is contacted by his ex-fiancée Anne Weing, who tells him that she is now Dr. Venom, much to his displeasure. Engaged to Dan Lewis. Cletus, who has been convicted of his crime and sentenced to death by lethal injection, invites Eddie to carry out his execution. Eddie talks to Cletus, who insults Eddie, prompting Venom to attack Cletus. Cletus bites Eddie’s hand and takes a small portion of the symbiote. Back at home, Venom argues with Eddie about wanting more freedom to eat criminals, and the symbiote decides to leave Eddie’s body and go off on its own.
As Cletus’ execution begins, a red symbiote appears and blocks the injection. Called Carnage, it goes on a violent rampage through prisons, freeing inmates and killing guards. Cletus agrees to help break Frances from Ravencroft in exchange for Cletus’ help in eliminating Eddie and Venom. Mulligan visits Eddie at home and warns him of the situation. At Ravencroft, Cletus frees Frances, and they travel to the St. Estes children’s home to burn it down. Mulligan suspects Eddie and arrests him. Eddie contacts Anne as his lawyer and reveals that Venom has broken up with her. As Venom jumps from body to body through San Francisco, Anne finds him bound to Mrs. Chen and convinces her to forgive Eddie. Venom reunites with Eddie and they escape from custody. Cletus takes Mulligan hostage, and Frances captures Anne, taking the two of them to Grace Cathedral where Cletus and Francis plan to marry.
Eddie and Venom arrive to fight Carnage while Francis seemingly kills Mulligan by chaining him to death. Venom is overpowered by Carnage but convinces Frances to use her powers to separate Carnage and Cletus. Venom consumes the carnage and kills Cletus while the collapsing cathedral crushes Francis. Eddie and Venom, now on the run, decide to take a vacation while they ponder their next move. In a mid-credits scene, as Venom tells Eddie about the symbiote’s knowledge of other universes, a blinding light leads them from hotel room to room where they meet J. Jonah sees Jameson talking about Spider-Man’s revealed identity as Peter Parker. Television Venom then licks the screen and says, “That guy.”

Cast and characters

Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom:
An investigative journalist who is host to an alien symbiote, Venom, which imbues him with superhuman powers. Director Andy Serkis described Eddie and Venom’s relationship as an “odd couple stage” in the film, with Venom stuck in Eddie’s body and just wanting to be a “lethal protector” that distracts Eddie from work and keeps his life together.
Michelle Williams as Anne Weing: A defense attorney and Eddie’s ex-fiancée, who briefly hosts Venom.
Naomie Harris as Frances Barrison/Shrek:
Cletus’s lover who can make audible screams. Serkis describes him as a damaged soul who lives in isolation and has a dark side. Olumide Olorunfemi portrays a young Francis.
Reid Scott as Dan Lewis: A doctor and Anne’s fiancé.
Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan: A detective hoping to use Eddie to find the remains of Cletus’ murder victims. Sean Delaney plays a young Mulligan.
Woody Harrelson as Cletus Cassady / Homicide:
A psychotic serial killer who becomes host to Venom’s spawn, Carnage. While in prison, Cletus refuses to speak to anyone except Eddie, whom he considers a kindred spirit. In Venom’s mid-credits scene, Cletus looks different than he does, which Serkis said indicates the passage of time between films; Combined with Harrelson’s dislike for the previous hairstyle and preference for a more realistic one. Harrelson was initially reluctant to voice Carnage and wanted Serkis to do it instead, but Serkis encouraged him to find the right tone for the character. Jack Bandeira plays a young Cletus.
In addition, Peggy Lu reprises her role from the first film as the convenience store owner Mrs. Chen who briefly hosts Venom, Sean Webber portrays the Ravencroft doctor Camille Pazo, Larry Olubami also appears as a Ravencroft guard, and Little Simz appears as himself. Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson’s footage, seen in the mid-credits scene, shows both actors uncharacteristically.

Box Office

Venom: Let There Be Carnage grossed $213.6 million in the United States and Canada and $293.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $506.9 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Many Saints of Newark and The Addams Family 2 , with Sony projecting a $40 million debut and box office analysts predicting it could reach $65 million in its opening weekend. The film grossed $37.3 million on its first day, including $11.6 million from Thursday night previews, besting the $10 million made by the first Venom and marking the second-biggest total since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, behind Black Widow’s $13.2 million. . In its opening weekend, Let There Be Carnage debuted to $90.1 million, marking Pandemic’s biggest opening at that point and surpassing the opening weekend gross of Venom ($80.3 million). The film dropped 64% in its second weekend with $32 million, behind newcomer No Time to Die for second place. Over the weekend ending November 14, Let There Be Carnage became the second film to cross the $200 million mark at the US and Canadian box-office during the pandemic, following Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings. It ended its box office run as the third highest grossing film of 2021 in the region.

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