What to Make of Venom: The Last Dance’s Post-Credit Scenes

As a film critic with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that *Venom: The Last Dance* is a rollercoaster ride of action, humor, and emotion, all expertly delivered by Tom Hardy’s captivating performance as both Eddie Brock and Venom. The film takes the audience on an exhilarating journey through the Nevada desert, where our anti-heroes are chased by government agents, extra-terrestrial creatures, and their own inner demons.

Venom: Final Dance

At the conclusion of the film, Venom and Eddie come to understand they cannot prevent the xenophages, despite Strickland’s recognition that symbiotes are less harmful than the monsters, and his offer of Imperium’s assistance. Given that as long as Venom and Eddie remain connected, there’s a possibility Knull may be released, Venom chooses to give up his life by immersing himself in an acid bath, eliminating the xenophages and ensuring that Knull will forever remain imprisoned. The movie concludes with Eddie looking at the Statue of Liberty as memories of their enjoyable moments together from the past three films unfold.

But the post-credit scenes suggest that we may not have seen the last of Knull or Venom, even though in all likelihood, we probably have.

What Happens in the Venom: The Last Dance Post-Credits Scenes

In “Venom: The Last Dance,” the initial post-credit scene occurs halfway through the rolling credits. We revisit Knull, who remains captive on his throne, revealing merely the top of his head and long, greasy white hair. His countenance is filled with wrath, and he laments that with Venom’s demise, The King in Black has awakened, leaving no one to safeguard the cosmos. He lifts his gaze, offering a brief peek at Knull’s visage, resembling a computer-generated villain straight out of a “World of Warcraft” cinematic scene.

In a typical post-credits scene manner, the vanquished villain promises “I’ll be back,” but this declaration doesn’t align with the film’s plot. The significance of Venom’s demise was that, as long as he lived in conjunction with Eddie, there remained a possibility for Knull to break free from his confinement. Knull, who debuted in Marvel comics relatively recently, in 2018, is famously known as “The King in Black.” Contrary to giving hints of some imminent, more formidable adversary, he’s merely indicating that we haven’t witnessed the final chapter of his story.

In the movie’s closing moments, there’s a humorous reference to an earlier scene. Eddie and Venom had caused quite a stir at a Mexican resort bar by making their own drinks using Venom’s tentacles, causing numerous bottles of alcohol to flip (and break) in the process. After Eddie left, he accidentally left a bit of the symbiote behind as a tip. Later, Rex showed up at the bar, took away the symbiote sample, and questioned the bartender. The bartender reappears later in the post-credits scene, emerging from the rubble of Area 51 bewildered about the events that transpired. As he stumbles out, a cockroach crosses paths with a vial containing the symbiote sample, hinting that Venom might be more resilient than people think, much like a cockroach.

This, again, is pretty typical for a post-credits scene—a funny joke, combined with a little tease that the hero lives on. It has the bonus of not begging follow-ups the way the Knull scene does. Venom might not be dead after all! Isn’t that nice? That’s a very different sentiment than Knull, this villain who didn’t actually do much of anything in this movie, says now he’s going to actually do something. Guess we’ll find out in the next movie?

In simple terms, the Venom films have been both commercially and to some extent critically successful among Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movies. The upcoming film, The Last Dance, is projected to earn over $150 million worldwide. This suggests a potential fourth movie, although it’s uncertain if Tom Hardy would agree to star again. The ending of the film, excluding the post-credits scene, seems final. If no sequel is made, then Knull’s grand announcement will join other unfulfilled promises like Madame Web’s hint at a Spider-Man team (which Sydney Sweeney has shown no interest in reprising for Madame Web 2) and Morbius’ puzzling Michael Keaton appearance.

It’s not just the Sony Spider-Man films where we see post-credits scenes leading nowhere; many movies within the Marvel Cinematic Universe have ended with hints that, given the audience response, seem unlikely to be followed up. For example, remember Harry Styles in Eternals, or Hercules in Thor: Love and Thunder? Or Kelsey Grammer reprising his role as Beast after The Marvels? These appearances seem more like a tease rather than a promise of future exploration.

In recent times, the certainty of future superhero movies appears to be waning compared to the past 20 years. Consequently, it’s only logical that the tradition of post-credits scenes – often used to tease upcoming events – might also be experiencing a lull. After all, it’s common practice in superhero films like Venom: The Last Dance to include such scenes. However, whether these scenes will hold any significance moving forward seems quite uncertain.

2024-10-26 01:06

Breaking Down the Twisted Ending of Netflix’s Paralytic Horror Don’t Move