Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
The successful box-office run of 2018's Venom gave birth to the film's sequel in the form of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In addition, this sequel film is also the second installment of Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
Directed by Andy Serkis, the blockbuster hit continues the story of Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his partner-in-crime symbiote Venom as they try to adjust to their newfound dual life.
However, the unexpected arrival of Woody Harrelson's Cletus Kasady into their lives and the situation gets even worse when the serial killer formed a bond with a symbiote to transform into the dangerous Carnage.
Let There Be Carnage's final battle showcased an intense sequence between Carnage and Venom, with the latter eventually winning the fight. And since it was somewhat expected that Venom would win to save the day, the sequel's surprise came at the very end of the film.
During the post-credits scene, Venom and Brock were both mysteriously transported to the MCU, essentially cementing the idea that a battle between the symbiote monster and Tom Holland's Spider-Man will happen down the line.
Now, new details about why the credits tag was included have emerged courtesy of Serkis himself.
Venom 2 Director Talks Post-Credits Scene
Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis sat down with Brandon Davis of Comicbook.com to talk about the film's post-credits sequence.
Serkis revealed that the purpose of the end-credits tag of the sequel is to let fans know that "these universes are going to somehow collide" but they wanted to do it in "a way that it still leaves so much open:"
"We wanted to leave the audience knowing that these universes are going to somehow collide and we wanted to do it in such a way that it still leaves
so much open. Tying them together means that there's still potential for...they're literally, the portal, is not being crossed fully."
The Marvel filmmaker then pointed out that the scene's intent was meant to "open up more questions" and to "tease" what's to come for the symbiote's next adventure:
"It's opening up more questions. I suppose, I mean, that was the intention of it to... It is a tease. It's a tease, in the fullest sense of the word."
Venom Embraces the Marvel Multiverse
Many would agree that Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene raises a lot of questions about Venom's place in the vast Marvel multiverse, but Andy Serkis' latest comments established the fact that Eddie Brock's universe would eventually "collide" with Peter Parker's world in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This isn't the first time that Serkis addressed the credits tag of the sequel. In a previous interview, the director pointed out that the plan for the "VenomVerse" is to lead to an eventual clash with the MCU's web-slinger, but it "still leaves room for other explorations" for the character as well.
While it is unknown if Venom will appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home in December, it's reasonable to assume that the major shift that transpired during the post-credits scene would be addressed in the threequel in some way to give fans more insight into what's really going on with Venom.
At this stage, it's safe to say that everything that happened in Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set in a different universe. Because of this, the MCU has yet to debut its own VenomVerse characters like Cletus Kasady, Carnage, or even Shriek. This would allow more story opportunities for Tom Hardy's Marvel character if the multiverse shenanigans let him stay in the MCU for a while.
Whether as a hero or a villain, Venom seems poised to serve as a major force in the MCU.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is now playing in theaters.
