MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
VENOM
THE LAST DANCE
Venom: The Last Dance reached US cinemas on 25 October 2024 with Kelly Marcel directing her first film. Tom Hardy returns as Eddie Brock and Venom, with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple and Andy Serkis, and it runs 109 minutes.
A WRITER BECOMES THE DIRECTOR
HOW THE FILM REACHED THE SCREEN
Tom Hardy said in August 2018 that he had signed for three Venom films. Sony confirmed a third film in development at CinemaCon in April 2022, and Kelly Marcel signed on to direct in October 2022. Marcel wrote and directed the film in her directorial debut, with Hardy sharing the story credit. Andy Serkis could not return as director because of his work on Animal Farm.
Principal photography began on 26 June 2023 at Los Mateos in Cartagena, Spain, and at Calblanque Regional Park. Filming was halted in mid-July 2023 by the SAG-AFTRA strike and resumed on 16 November under the working title Orwell. The title Venom: The Last Dance was announced in March 2024 with a new date of 25 October. Dan Deacon composed the score, and the budget was $110 million to $120 million.
A MILITARY CHASE AND A SYMBIOTE GOD
WHO IS IN THE CAST
Tom Hardy plays Eddie Brock and Venom, with Chiwetel Ejiofor as General Rex Strickland, Juno Temple as Dr. Teddy Paine, Rhys Ifans as Martin Moon, Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan, Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen, Clark Backo as Sadie Christmas, Alanna Ubach as Nova Moon and Andy Serkis as Knull.
THE SMALLEST OPENING OF THE SERIES
HOW THE FILM WAS RELEASED AND WHAT IT EARNED
The film premiered at the Regal Times Square theatre in New York City on 21 October 2024 and opened in the US on 25 October. It opened to $51,012,404 in the US and went on to earn $139,755,882 there and $478,937,618 worldwide. The opening was the lowest of the series, and the second weekend fell to $26.1 million.
In a mid-credits scene Knull declares that the universe is no longer safe from him, and in a post-credits scene a bartender escapes the burned remains of Area 51. The film was expected to conclude the Venom trilogy, though Hardy said “never say never” on a return or a crossover with Spider-Man.
THE REWATCH
A 40% CRITICS SCORE AND A B- FROM AUDIENCES
Rotten Tomatoes lists a 40% critics’ score from 225 reviews and a 79% audience score, and its consensus says “the always watchable Tom Hardy injects ample charisma.” Metacritic gives it 41 from 47 critics and a user score of 5.8, and CinemaScore audiences gave it a B-, the lowest of the trilogy. Kevin Maher of The Times found it “hugely dispiriting to watch Hardy sink so low.” The film received a Saturn Award nomination for best science fiction film and Critics’ Choice Super Award nominations for Hardy and the film.
In the Marvel Marathon it is catalogued as Spider-Verse and sits in the Marvel movies in release order guide between Deadpool & Wolverine and Kraven the Hunter. In the Spider-Man movies in order guide it comes between Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter. It is not in the MCU guides.
QUICK ANSWERS
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE WATCH QUESTIONS
Do I need to watch the earlier Venom films?
Yes. The film concludes Eddie and Venom’s story from the first two films, and it sets up Knull, who appears in the mid-credits scene.
How long is Venom: The Last Dance?
109 minutes.
Is it the last Venom film?
It was expected to conclude the Venom trilogy. In February 2026 an animated Venom film was reported to be in pre-production.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include Venom: The Last Dance?
It appears in the Marvel movies in release order and Spider-Man movies in order guides. It is not in the MCU guides.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, release, box-office and reception details are checked against a film reference, box-office data and aggregator scores, cited individually below.