‘Venom 2’ Officially Has A Screenwriter
Despite receiving mixed reactions from critics, Venom went on take make over $800 million dollars worldwide. That was more than enough money for Sony to green light a sequel, and now we know who is going to be writing said sequel.
Venom was written by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel, and by the current looks of things, Kelly Marcel is returning as Venom 2’s official scribe. According to a recent report by Variety, Marcel was given a significant deal to return and pen the script for the sequel, and she will also serve as an executive producer on the film. There was no mention of Jeff Pinker or Scott Rosenberg returning to co-write the script.
Variety also mentioned the Ruben Fleischer may not be returning as director since he will be busy filming Zombieland 2. The search for a new director should begin soon then, since Sony announced in November that they plan on releasing a Marvel film on July 10, 2020 and October 2, 2020. With the surprising amount of money that Venom made in October, one can only assume that the sequel is slated for the same month. That timeline suggests that production on the film should be underway some time this year.
Tom Hardy will of course be back to play Eddie Brock and voice the role of the titular antihero, and both Michelle Williams and Woody Harrelson are expected to return as well. Hopefully, Harrelson won’t be donning the atrocious wig that he wore in Venom’s after-credits scene – especially since he will be portraying the fan-favorite character, Carnage.
Seeing how successful Venom was financially, I understand why Sony would want Kelly Marcel to return as the screenwriter. Yet, since I was personally disappointed with how Venom turned out narratively, I can’t help but be disappointed by this news as well. Marcel is best known for adapting Fifty Shades of Grey to the big screen, and is currently working on a live-action Cruella de Vil film for Disney. Those writing credits don’t exactly give me hope that Venom 2 will be better than its predecessor. With Avi Arad and Amy Pascal returning as producers, I can already foresee Venom 2 shoving potential spinoff references down the audience’s throat – much like how The Amazing Spider-Man 2 treated the Sinister Six setup.
Hopefully, Into the Spider-Verse has taught Sony that audiences enjoy nuance as well, so they can inject some of that substance into Venom 2. I want Venom 2 to be good; I really enjoyed the relationship between Eddie Brock and his symbiote. I just currently have my doubts on the project. We’ll see if those doubts can be shaken by the time a new director is announced.
