Venom is returning to theaters to provide more carnage and more MCU confusion.
Sony has debuted the trailer for “Venom: The Last Dance,” the third and final film in its trilogy centered on the Spider-Man character. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock, a journalist who hosts an alien symbiote.
The trailer begins with Eddie transforming into Venom to take on a group of villains, and it leans into the comedy of the original two films as Eddie and the symbiote awkwardly try to say, “We are Venom.”
The rest of the footage depicts Eddie and Venom on the run as fugitives, and Sony’s official plot synopsis teases, “Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.”
The trailer also reveals that more symbiotes will be coming to Earth, with Venom warning, “My home has found us.” The possible death of Eddie and/or Venom is hinted at, as the film’s tagline is “till death do they part,” and Eddie says, “We may not make it out of this alive, buddy.”
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Watch the ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ trailer
Is ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ an MCU film? New trailer sparks confusion
But one moment in the trailer left some Marvel fans confused: Cristo Fernández is briefly seen in a bar with a piece of alien symbiote on the counter, which a character played by Chiwetel Ejiofor captures.
This appears to be the follow-up to the credits scene from “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” which, like all Marvel Cinematic Universe films, takes place in a different universe than Sony’s “Venom” series. In the credits scene, Hardy’s Eddie Brock chats with Fernández’s character in a bar, and when Eddie is transported back to his universe — the world of the “Venom” franchise — a piece of the symbiote is left behind in the MCU.
The scene seemingly sets up a storyline for the next “Spider-Man” film involving Tom Holland’s Peter Parker encountering the Venom symbiote in his world.
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Fans were confused, then, by the “Last Dance” trailer suggesting that the bar is in the “Venom” universe, not the MCU, when “No Way Home” implied the opposite.
“Another Sony Marvel movie that doesn’t make any sense because how is this possible,” one X post said.
Tom Hardyis bringing the fun for ‘Venom 2’ after digesting bad reviews: ‘I just like to know’
Ryan Broderick, author of the “Garbage Day” newsletter, suggested, “Either Sony spoiled the ending of ‘Venom 3’ and Chiwetel Ejiofor ends up in the MCU or they just completely forgot (about the ‘No Way Home’ credits scene).”
‘Venom: The Last Dance‘ cast and release date
“Venom: The Last Dance” stars Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach and Stephen Graham.
Ejiofor and Ifans are both entering the “Venom” franchise after previously playing different Marvel characters on screen, as the former starred as Mordo in “Doctor Strange,” while the latter played the Lizard in Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
“Venom: The Last Dance” hits theaters on Oct. 25.
