Director Andy Serkis has confirmed the seemingly short run time of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and has offered the reasoning behind it. Recently, it was reported that the upcoming Venom sequel would clock in at a lean 90 minutes, making it the shortest Marvel movie yet. That’s 22 minutes less than the original, and given how most superhero movies these days seem to regularly surpass the two-hour mark, it would seem that Venom won’t have nearly as much time to dilly-dally before getting to the action.
As it turns out, that’s been the whole plan all along. Serkis recently shed some new light on the 90-minute run time for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and the thinking about the decision is solid enough. From his vantage point, Serkis saw the best course of action for the Venom sequel in forgoing the typical exposition and other moments that add run time to keep the movie a fast-paced thrill ride all the way through. As Serkis tells IGN:
“It was actually always going to be [leaner]. We always wanted this film to be a real thrill ride. And a fast, muscular [movie]… not hanging around too much with exposition. But having said that, I think what we’ve done is achieve a real balance between dropping anchor with all of the characters so that you feel that you’re fully immersed in them and that we’re not just rushing through to the next battle or action part.”
Tom Hardy has been much more hands-on with this sequel, as he spent a lot of time with screenwriter Kelly Marcel to flesh out the story. He’s already thinking of the future as well, as there are early ideas in mind for Venom 3. A third movie won’t be greenlit until Sony sees just how well the sequel performs when it’s released in October, but Hardy is technically signed up for three movies.
A crossover with Spider-Man may happen for Venom someday, as there have been many rumors about this inevitable meeting. In the IGN Q&A, Andy Serkis also addressed this possibility, agreeing that it was the “burning question” that everyone had. For his part, Serkis had to agree that the Venom/Spidey crossover is bound to happen at some point, but he doesn’t want to see it anytime soon, so as to first let other supervillains get their moment.
“Of course it’s going to happen,” Serkis said. “Look, it depends when you want to get there, and also, what the appetite is. If people want more Venom stories, then, to jump straight to Spider-Man, you could be missing out on so many great supervillain characters in between now and then. So, in a way, by rushing to it, you might be closing the door.”
For now, fans can look forward to catching Tom Hardy return as Eddie Brock in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which is set to be released in theaters on Oct. 1. Hardy is also one of many Marvel actors to be rumored for a cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which hits theaters in December, but time will tell if that happens. This comes to us from IGN.