Venom's MCU debut has been officially announced, but there's a catch. Marvel's maniacal Symbiote villain has been a long time coming to a project under the Marvel Studios banner. Audiences have been teased about the character's MCU arrival over the years, with moments like Tom Hardy's Venom's introduction in the super-powered universe, yet the iconic big bad has remained absent from the interconnected canon. That is... for now!
During Marvel Television and Animation's New York Comic-Con (NYCC) panel, which The Direct was in attendance for, Marvel Studios Head of Streaming, Television, and Animation Brad Winderbaum confirmed Venom will play a part in the upcoming second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, marking the first MCU project for the character.
Debuting a first look at the series, Winderbaum told attendees, "Fans of Venom should get excited." The character also appeared in footage shown off at the event, squaring off against Marvel's web-headed wall-crawler.
While exciting, there is a catch. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man technically does not take place in the MCU proper. Instead, it centers on an alternate universe version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man from somewhere in the far reaches of the Marvel Studios Multiverse. So, this is not the live-action MCU Venom debut audiences have been clamoring for.
A Venom-connected Symbiote was teased at the end of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 1, but Venom himself did not make an appearance (read more about Venom's Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man tease here).
Instead, it was a series of Symbiote aliens that served as a final threat for Spider-Man and Doctor Strange to take on. It seems all that was table setting for Venom himself to drop in for Season 2, with the series' animated take on Peter Parker forced to take on the bloodthirsty big bad.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Season 2 was just one of several new series shown off as a part of Marvel's NYCC plans. The web-slinging Disney+ show will debut on the service sometime next fall, continuing to tell the story of a high school-age Peter Parker who is just getting his feet wet as New York City's friendly neighborhood superhero.
What's Next For Venom in the MCU?
It is exciting to finally see/hear that Venom will be making his MCU debut in 2026. Seeing the character go up against an MCU Spider-Man (albeit a Multiversal Variant of one) will almost surely pique fans' interest heading into the new year.
However, Venom's MCU future may not stop there. For years, audiences have been clamoring to see the iconic comic character appear as part of Marvel Studios' live-action on-screen efforts.
Fans thought they were finally going to get it, after the post-credit scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage transported Tom Hardy's Venom character into the MCU; however, that was quickly retconned, sending the Sony Pictures anti-hero back to the ill-fated Sony's Spider-Man Universe.
However, Hardy's Marvel character did not depart from the MCU without leaving behind a little Symbiotic souvenir. As revealed in the Spider-Man: No Way Home stinger, a small morsel of Venom Symbiote remained in the MCU despite Hardy's Eddie Brock being snapped away by Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange.
Some have speculated that this Venom-themed hanging thread could be followed up on in 2026's Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with Michael Mando's Scorpion potentially getting his hands on the Symbiote and, thus, becoming the MCU's first live-action Venom.
Mando has even seemingly teased as such, making Venom fans eager to see the upcoming Spidey sequel.
