The battle of the symbiotes will apparently be getting right to it in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Set to release in theaters on Oct. 1, the runtime for the movie has been revealed to be an even 90 minutes long, according to the listing on official websites for ticket sales like AMC and Fandango. When factoring in the end credits with the post-credit scene, the sequel seems to be surprisingly short, given how long most other movies of its type seem to be these days.
It makes sense for epic superhero crossover movies like Avengers: Endgame and Zack Snyder’s Justice League to run three or four hours long. Even so, solo superhero movies still typically run at least two-hours in length. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, which is now playing in theaters, sits at two hours and twelve minutes long. Even the original Venom ran much longer than its sequel with a length of one hour and fifty-two minutes, tying the running times of Thor: The Dark World and The Incredible Hulk. Only The New Mutants comes close with just four more minutes than the new Venom at 94 minutes. Roger Corman’s Fantastic Four is also 90 minutes in length, but that movie was unreleased and not exactly all there at the end of the day.
Recently, it was also revealed that Venom: Let There Be Carnage is rated PG-13 for “intense sequences of violence and action, some strong language, disturbing material, and suggestive references.” This is the same rating as the first Venom, though some fans were still hoping for that R rating following the success of movies like Deadpool 2 and Joker. Star Tom Hardy had previously campaigned for an R rating as well, but noted that it wasn’t up to him.
“To be fair the thing could fulcrum into R-rated,” Hardy previously explained. “It can fulcrum into for youth or children. My littlest ones they watch Spider-Man and Venom quite comfortably, and Venom toys appear and LEGO appear in my nostrils in the morning. So it’s not like they’re scared by him, but at the same time, there’s a lot with the real estate that you can actually imbue with a complete sense of gratuitous ultraviolence if you really wanted to. And I think you’ve got the right people for that job if you want to push it because that’s where I’d love to go with it. And I’d love to go through all the Avengers as well with him. But that’s above my pay grade.”
Andy Serkis directs Venom: Let There Be Carnage, succeeding original director Ruben Fleischer. Hardy contributed to the story with screenwriter Kelly Marcel. Along with Hardy in the lead, the sequel also brings in Woody Harrelson as serial killer Cletus Kasady, who ends up becoming host of the symbiote Carnage. Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, and Stephen Graham also star.
Like many movies, Venom: Let There Be Carnage had a release date that shifted around heavily due to the pandemic. Based on the success of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Venom sequel was recently moved ahead to debut earlier two weeks earlier than expected on Oct. 1, 2021. The movie will apparently be short, but let’s hope it’s a fun ride.