Maebh Springbett
With a 97 minute running time, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is notably shorter than most Marvel movies but delivers no less on story or intense action scenes.
Following its premiere in London on 14th September, Let There Be Carnage was first released in the US on 1st October. On opening weekend Let There Be Carnage managed to earn a staggering $90 million, even more than its predecessor’s initial takings of $80 million. In total the movie has grossed around $191.6 million domestically and, after its subsequent release in the UK on 15th October, has made over $400 million in international box offices.
Like so many movies coming out this year, Let There Be Carnage had to be delayed from its original release date back in October 2020 due to the Covid pandemic. But the movie has nonetheless comfortably competed with other huge releases this year, including fellow Marvel titles such as Black Widow and Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, as the seventh highest grossing movie in 2021.
to reignite his career as a journalist, Brock interviews menacing serial killer Cletus Kasady
With a 97 minute running time, Let There Be Carnage is notably shorter than most Marvel movies but delivers no less on story or intense action scenes. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock who is adjusting to life as a host to the alien symbiote Venom, also voiced by Hardy. In an attempt to reignite his career as a journalist, Brock interviews menacing serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) who awaits execution on death row. But after Brock’s visit Kasady becomes host to another symbiote, Carnage. Together they intend to free Kasady’s lost love Frances Barrison, or Shriek (Naomi Harris), who has the power to manipulate sound, from the Ravencroft Institute and eliminate Brock and Venom.
Audiences may have noticed the subtle appearance of Stan Lee, customary to Marvel, near the beginning of the movie when Brock enters Mrs Chen’s shop and Venom arranges some magazines which feature the notorious comic book writer on the cover.
‘I’m happy to say Tom Hardy is a lovely bloke.’
Let There Be Carnage also features an end credits scene which proves to be anything but routine as it hints at the future of Venom within the Marvel franchise. It shows Brock and Venom watching TV when suddenly their hotel room seems to be transported to a different universe. On the screen there is now the news report revealing Peter Parker as Spider-Man which was shown at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. It has been speculated that this was the signal of Venom’s official entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the character having previously been developed separately by Sony Pictures as a standalone movie with Venom (2018). The scene shocked audiences who now anxiously await answers, though an appearance by Brock and Venom in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home seems like a real possibility. In an interview with Total Film, Tom Holland addresses these rumours, admitting he genuinely doesn’t know whether Spider-Man and Venom will interact but also hints that ‘I’m happy to say Tom Hardy is a lovely bloke.’
‘coming out of Eddie party’
Brock and Venom’s relationship is also praised for its queer dynamic which is made further explicit in Let There Be Carnage. Both Hardy and director Andy Serkis have acknowledged that their intention was to build on this and incorporate elements which signal their queer relationship. One example is when Venom, separated from Brock after they fight, unwittingly attends an LGBTQ rave which he then declares to the crowd is his ‘coming out of Eddie party’. Serkis has also revealed since its release that ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was considered as an alternative title for the movie, a tribute to the infamous song by Joy Division.
Featured image courtesy of Waldemar Brandt from Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes or alterations were made to this image.
Maebh Springbett
While Head of Entertainment for Empoword Journalism, Maebh works in the Careers department at the University of Reading. Their writing focuses on music and has been published by the likes of Music Is To Blame and Dead Good Music. They aspire to work in non-fiction publishing.