Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Venom: The Last Dance
After 6 years of wild, occasionally gross story-telling, Tom Hardy’s symbiote trilogy has come to an end withVenom: The Last Dancemarking the end of an era.Marvel’s most famous symbiote and his host first combined in 2018’sVenom, kicking offSony’s Spider-Man Universewith a spirit of uproarious fun that skirted close to an R-rating without ever crossing the line.
WithVenom: The Last Stand, Sony are closing a chapter, but the movie’s ending - and specifically the introduction of a Thanos-level threat to the universe inGod-tier villain Knull- holds considerable promise for the future. It’s just a future that we’ll have to face without Tom Hardy’s participation, unless Marvel pulls off a masterstroke and brings Eddie Brock into the mix forAvengers: DoomsdayorSecret Wars. Stranger things have certainly happened.
As the dust begins to settle on Venom’s movie trilogy, let’s break down exactly howThe Last Danceends Eddie Brock’s story, the subtle hidden meaning it reveals about the wider trilogy, and exactly what it sets up for the future. Here’s everything you need to know.
Venom Sacrifices Himself To Destroy The Codex And Save The World
It Really Was The Last Dance For Venom
Venom 3’s marketing - and indeed the title - has very consciously leaned into the fact thateither Eddie or Venom would die inThe Last Dance,and it’s the symbiote who makes the final sacrifice. The film’s climax pits Venom, several new symbiotes, and Earth’s army under Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Rex Strickland againstKnull’s monstrous Xenophages, which lay waste to the symbiotes, leaving Venom alive.
Venom absorbs the Xenophages and crawls towards a handily placed vat of acid to kill both himself and the alien monsters. The symbiote pushes Eddie away before Strickland uses his clearance to make the acid be dumped on them, andVenom protects his host using a steel door before he’s killed when Strickland destroys the facility. The symbiote’s final words to Eddie are “bye for now,” suggesting that even in his last moments, he touchingly believes the pair may be reunited.
The Codex And Its Significance Explained
Knull’s plan for escape from his prison depends on him gaining access to the Codex, which is created when a symbiote saves their host’s life and their life forces become one. In Venom’s case, this happened inVenom’s endingwhen Eddie was stabbed by Riot, and the symbiote bonded with him to revive him. Venom was willing to sacrifice himself at that point, earning himself the Lethal Protector nickname that would then play a similarly important part inThe Last Dance’s ending.
It’s not entirely clear why the Codex is key to Knull’s escape in the movie, but he is left imprisoned when Venom defeats the Xenophages and sacrifices himself, much to Knull’s anger. That also suggests thatthe Codex is destroyed, despite Knull’s threats to reap vengeance on the universe.
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In Marvel Comics, the Codex is more complex, potentially offering an answer. Rather than being created through a bond between host and symbiote, the Codex is a fragment of a symbiote left within the host’s body even after they’ve stopped being bonded. The Codex also creates a log of the host in the symbiote Hive-mind, and is effectively the key to a wealth of knowledge on the hosts.
Additionally, in the comics, Eddie was actually able to create his own composite symbiote from Codices harvested by The Maker (an alternate universe, villainous version of Reed Richards), who had collected them in an attempt to restore his own universe.Capable of creating symbiotes, unlocking their secrets (and those of the Hive-mind), and other incredibly valuable powers, they are a big deal.Knull identified Venom’s Codex as the key to his escape, perhaps as a means to control the Hive-mind and become more powerful.
How Venom Can Still Return Explained
If Sony’s universe follows the trend set by the comics version of the Codex, Eddie may still have a trace of the Codex in his own body: a parting gift left by his symbiote. That would make resurrection possible given the right access to the Codex, which would require a deeper dive into symbiote lore. Luckily, Juno Temple’s Dr. Payne bonds with one of the Area 55 symbiotes, potentiallymeaning a connection to the Hive-mind and its secrets endures.
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Somewhat more tangibly, there are still two fragments of Venom unaccounted for. One is left in the MCU inSpider-Man: No Way Home’s post-credits sceneand the other was in the custody of Strickland after he recovered it from the same bar in his own universe. There is a hint inVenom: The Last Dance’s post-credits scene that the containment device he uses to trap the symbiote fragment is broken during the Area 55 battle and the symbiote fragment escapes. A reunion may well still be on the cards.
What’s Next For Eddie Brock?
Eddie is left injured by the final battle but survives, waking up in hospital, where he is met with the revelation that his record has been expunged and he has “the heartfelt thanks of a grateful nation.” Along with the note of thanks, the General tells Eddie that he cannot reveal any details of what happened or he will be thrown into the “coldest, darkest hole imaginable.”
So what’s next?The Last Danceleans heavily on the idea that Eddie would be a good father, which of course plays into the fact that in the comics he has a son: Dylan Brock. The suggestion is that now his life is no longer volatile and his record is clean, he can once more focus on realizing that story. Tragically, of course, it won’t be with Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), his girlfriend from the first movie, asLet There Be Carnagesaw her engaged to Dan Lewis.
Tom Hardy has spoken quite openly about his desire to meet Spider-Man, appearing at New York Comic Con 2024 to say he’d be game for a crossover:
“I would love to fight Spider-Man. I would love to fight him now. I’m happy to fight Spider-Man today, 100 percent. I would never say never.”
Whether that’s possible with Sony and Disney’s current Marvel rights deal remains to be seen, but it would be well worth the effort. Hardy has also debunked rumors that he’s inSpider-Man 4,butdespite the end of theVenomtrilogy, this doesn’t feel like the end entirely.
What Happens To Knull At The End Of Venom: The Last Dance
WhenVenom sacrifices himself to save Eddie and kill the Xenophages, he undoes Knull’s planto escape and seek dominion of the universe. He remains trapped in his prison, but somehow senses the destruction of the Codex, presumably thanks to a connection to the Hive-mind. But he won’t be gone for too long.
How Venom 3 Sets Up A Larger Knull Storyline
Venom: The Last Dancedirector Kelly Marcel spoke about Knull’s surprisingly brief involvement in the movie ahead of release. The important takeaway is that we can expect to see more of the terrifying villain in Sony’s movie future:
“We’re in spoiler territory now and we hope some of the fun of watching this movie is not knowing what will happen, but trust me, we know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull. The King in Black is way too powerful for ‘one and done.’”
By the sound of it, Knull is being set up as a Thanos-level threat to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, despite the death of Venom and the symbiote massacre:
“This film introduces Knull, but it just touches the beginnings of his story. Marvel’s greatest film villains are developed over time. Here, Knull is the threat lurking behind the danger that tests the absolute limits of Eddie and Venom’s partnership — but it’s their relationship that remains the heart of this story.”
How that will happen is currently unclear. There is, of course,the possibility that Knull crosses over into the MCU- he does have multiverse-traveling powers after all - but it’s telling that Marcel has also spoken about life in the symbiote franchise even after Venom’s fate is revealed. So a King In Black event could still happen solely in Sony’s cinematic universe.
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In the comics,the King In Black crossover event was a sprawling storyline that included appearances by Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four members, and other symbiotes. Both Venom and Spider-Man play key roles as Knull invades Earth and leaves a wave of destruction and dead and defeated superheroes. A movie adaptation would presumably be very different to the original, but it’s an exciting prospect all the same.
Dr. Payne’s Symbiote Agony Explained
Is Agony Venom’s Replacement?
At the end ofThe Last Dance, when Strickland is fatally wounded, he sets off a grenade, killing himself and creating a massive explosion that almost leaves no survivors. Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) flees the blast, but is temporarily distracted by a fallen comrade, and chooses to break open the vial of the final symbiote. Bonding with the pink symbiote, she possesses lightning and super-speed powers, and saves her friend.
Turning to the comics, it appearsPayne bonds with Agony, one of five Symbiotes created by the Life Foundation as a sort of superhuman defense force from Venom “seeds.” She bonds with Life security guard Leslie Gesneria and possesses the typical symbiote powers, along with the ability to spit acid.
Agony officially debuted in Marvel Comics in Venom: Lethal Protector #4 (March, 1993)
Given Kelly Marcel has promised more symbiote stories, it would seem likely that Sony has plans to bring Agony and Temple back, possibly for the Knull event. Could she be Sony’s answer to a Venom replacement? She would have big shoes to fill, obviously, and the loss of Tom Hardy is a big blow to Sony, butmore symbiote projects that lead up to Knull are going to need a focal point.
The Significance Of Eddie’s Trip To The Statue Of Liberty Explained
The Deeper Meaning Of Venom’s Trilogy Finally Explained
In the final battle, with all the other symbiotes dead, Venom and Eddie share a moment when the latter is wounded and Venom heals him. Clearly sensing his own death, or aware of the sacrifice he will have to make, he says to Eddie, “I really would have liked to have seen her…Lady Liberty.” In effect,The Last Danceconfirms the Venom franchise’s immigrant story subtext.
The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of freedom and liberty, and it’s impossible to ignore the association with the immigrant story. Venom himself is an immigrant of sorts, who comes to Earth looking for new opportunities. Of course, his quest to find hosts is somewhat different, but Venom’s fear of Knull and the threat of the Xenophages clearly has an impact on the symbiote. Thathis final tragic wish was to have seen a symbol of freedom is a touching nod to his hopethat he could have been accepted and enjoyed a real sense of freedom.
As the final battle rages, Rhys Ifans' character’s family who appear earlier on a road trip to Area 51 return, and Eddie saves them. Earlier, he had told the young son that aliens didn’t exist, but reality sets in as the symbiotes battle the Xenophages. The boy is scared, but Eddie assures him that his “best friend in the whole world” is an alien, further underlining the subtle message of welcoming difference.
What Happens In Venom: The Last Dance’s Post-Credits Scenes Explained
Venom: The Last Dancehas two credits scenes. The first returns to Knull’s prison, as he deals with his defeat. Enraged, he vows revenge and sets up his next steps with a chilling promise to the universe:
“Your champion has fallen. Planets will be mine. The King in Black is awake. I will kill your world, everyone will burn and you will watch.”
GivenVenom: The Last Dance’s director Kelly Marcel has already promised that there will be more of Knull, it presumably won’t be long until the formidable villain escapes to deliver on that promise. If Sony get this right, and hopefully find a way to bring Venom back, or even use Spider-Man finally in their expanded universe, King In Black could be an Avengers-sized event.
The comics event built on Marvel lore establishing Knull as an ancient enemy of the Celestials, who have been a major presence in the MCU already. He seeks, in Marvel’s own official words, a “perfect kingdom of nothingness”, and created the symbiotes as his own army before they betrayed and imprisoned him. His threat of dominion is not an empty one, andhopefully, Sony can amass enough defenders of Earth to justify such a hugely powerful villain’s arrival.
The post-credits scene is a short stinger set back among the ruins of Area 51 after Strickland’s explosion. After the dust has settled, Cristo Fernández’s bartender appears, desperately calling out “Hola?” and seeking rescue. The camera then tightens focus on a cockroach, paying off an earlier scene in which Dr. Payne says that only cockroaches would survive the government-sanctioned destruction of Area 51.
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Thecockroach curiously approaches the same device that Strickland previously contained the Venom symbiote fragmentthat was left in the bar early in the movie. The device lets off sparks, suggesting that it’s broken and that whatever was inside is now free. The allusion to the cockroach’s resilience is clearly intended to be a nod to the possible survival of the Venom fragment, immediately setting up the symbiote’s return. But will he bond with someone else?
If Tom Hardy isn’t set to return afterVenom: The Last Dance(unless someone gives him the chance to realize his dream of fighting Spider-Man), there is of course, the possibility that Venom could bond with another host. In the comics, a number of Marvel characters played host to Venom, including Peter Parker, Anne Weying, Angelo Fortunato, Mac Gargan (Scorpion), Flash Thompson, and Eddie Brock’s son, Dylan. So even without Hardy, Sony has options.
Venom: The Last Dance
Cast
Venom: The Last Dance is a film directed by an undisclosed director, featuring the character Venom in a thrilling narrative. The movie explores the alien symbiote’s latest challenges and transformations as it navigates through a world full of danger and new adversaries.
