Tom Hardy’s $506M Action Hit Venom Scores New Streaming Home 5 Years Later

by

Venom, the popular black alien symbiote, has become a streaming sensation just as easily as it possesses people. It’s been about eight years since Tom Hardy first played Venom, launching a successful trilogy thanks to his compelling performance as Eddie Brock. But Venom’s influence extends beyond the movies themselves.

Tom Hardy not only provided the voice for the alien symbiote Venom, but he also contributed to the writing of the 2021 sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. This expanded his involvement in a film that many consider to be the most successful Marvel project created through Sony Pictures. Even nineteen years later, there’s still talk about a possible fourth film in the series.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage, released in 2021, increased the excitement of the series by introducing Woody Harrelson as the villain Cletus Kasady, who transforms into the dangerous Carnage. Fans will be happy to hear that the film is coming to Disney+ on January 22nd, joining the first Venom movie already available on the platform.

In a recent interview with The Playlist’s Discourse Podcast in November, director Ruben Fleischer (known for Venom) discussed what made Tom Hardy so impressive in the role, a performance that helped the film earn $500 million worldwide and a 79% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Venom stands out from other superhero movies because of its darker tone, both in how the character appears and acts. It’s surprisingly funny too, and Tom Hardy really brought that out in his performance. I think the combination of Tom Hardy’s charisma and the appeal of the Venom character is a big reason why it’s been so popular with viewers.

Calling it a great addition to Disney+ doesn’t quite capture how disappointing it is that we never saw a Spider-Man (whether Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland) and Venom crossover. It really felt like fans were cheated, especially after the films hinted at it when Venom was pulled into the multiverse during Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: The Last Dance.

Fleischer also, to this day, of the highly-anticipated Spider-Man cameo on Venom.

That film was the first to explore a Spider-Man-related story outside of the main Spider-Man universe. We were all trying to establish its own identity. Because ‘Venom’ had always been linked to Spider-Man in the comics, and we weren’t allowed to include Spider-Man in our movie, it presented a unique creative challenge. As I recall, we always intended it to be a separate entity. While there was potential for the characters to meet in future installments, the core idea was that ‘Venom’ shouldn’t rely on Spider-Man’s story.

Tom Hardy Done With Venom, But Is Venom Done With Him?

It seems highly unlikely that Tom Hardy will return as Venom. He’s previously stated the last film concluded the trilogy, signaling his departure from the role, even though he cares deeply about the character. This is especially true considering the close connection between Venom and Spider-Man in the comics – Venom simply doesn’t exist in the same way without Spider-Man – and the fact that Spider-Man hasn’t appeared in any of the three Venom films, which many find unbelievable.

It’s strange that we’re getting movies focused on villains like Carnage and Shriek from the Maximum Carnage storyline, but Spider-Man isn’t involved! In the original comic, Spider-Man and Venom teamed up with other heroes to stop Carnage, Shriek, and Demogoblin, so excluding him from these new films seems odd.

That movie was a major misstep, and now the best thing to do is rewatch Tom Hardy’s performance on Disney+. Fans are hoping the Marvel Cinematic Universe will introduce the black symbiote, possibly with Tom Holland wearing the black Spider-Man suit in a future Avengers film like Doomsday or Secret Wars. It seems there’s still reason to be optimistic.

Read More

2026-01-16 04:08