Venom: The Last Dance is the final entry in Sony’s Venom movie trilogy, which are themselves part of the studio’s Spider-Man Universe. The first trailer for the movie has just been released, promising intense symbiote action and goofy antics. While this is certain to entice some moviegoers, it also highlights some of the ongoing issues with Sony’s struggling shared universe.

Beyond the financial success of the first two Venom movies, Sony’s recent live-action usage of the Spider-Man license has not been well-regarded. This is mainly due to their varying quality and seeming lack of careful planning, with even the third Venom film potentially suffering from these same issues. Now, the movie is set to possibly be the penultimate entry in the shared universe, which could be a blessing in disguise.

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The first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance features all kinds of Lethal Protector-themed mayhem, including an actual dance sequence. Eddie Brock is seen being attacked by a group of gangsters in Mexico before taking them down in a violent manner thanks to the Venom symbiote. Unfortunately, the two soon go back on the run, both from the authorities hunting Brock after the events of the first two movies, and fellow symbiotes from Venom’s homeworld. Amid all the chaos comes tons of comedy, with Eddie temporarily reuniting with Mrs. Chen before Venom dances with her.

This is essentially more of what fans have come to (ironically) love from the series, which might be part of the problem. Venom: The Last Dance will be the final entry in the series, with actor Tom Hardy having no more solo movies after this. Despite that, there’s no real sense of this being a “last hurrah” for the character, and it instead comes off as more of the same. Likewise, there doesn’t seem to be much narrative connection between the various symbiotes seen in the movie’s trailer and the other threats. This gives the impression that the final part of the trilogy is merely a random smarttering of ideas with no real cohesion. That would certainly be a shame if true, but it’s not outside the norm for the shared universe that it takes place in.

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Despite being referred to as the Sony Spider-Man Universe, the fictional shared universe that began with 2018’s Venom has never actually featured Spider-Man himself. The main exception was the post-credits scene in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which featured the Tom Holland Spider-Man as it tied into the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The Venom series are also the few examples of true connective tissue between these films, with a few lines in the much-maligned 2021 movie Morbius being the only other case of this. Even then, references to Spider-Man in that movie were mostly removed, and the same was mostly definitely the case in the 2024 film Madame Web. All of these movies besides the second Venom (which had a more mixed reception) were negatively received, but even this reception could have worked if the movies were connected in some way.

It was never obvious if this shared universe was going to build up to anything for viewers to care about beyond the individual movies themselves. Some kind of event build-up helped propel the more middling entries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe pre-Avengers: Endgame, but Sony’s Spider-Man Universe never achieved anything similar. It’s possible that a Sinister Six teamup or a fight against Spider-Man was the goal, but that’s only somewhat been hinted at. The lack of a cohesive vision and varying quality has made this even more questionable, with Sony’s plans seemingly changing just as each film is released. That appears to be the case with Venom: The Last Dance, which seems like it might be combining multiple scripts and ideas into one movie. This might work in the end, but there’s been little evidence that the Sony project will be high-quality.

This goes back to the lack of planning, with Sony apparently operating by the edge of its seat when developing what was supposed to be the studio’s answer to the MCU. While connecting them more organically would not have necessarily improved the movies, it might have at least created a sense of a wider world for audiences to invest in. That way, those who loved the Venom movies might have given Morbius and Madame Web more of a chance, as they would have been treated in more of a “must-see” light due to their connection to the Lethal Protector. Better yet, the glue that should have stuck these movies together is the same character referenced in the title of the shared universe.

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The lack of Spider-Man himself in the Sony Spider-Man Universe has been head-scratching to fans and moviegoers, especially given that many of the characters used so far involve Spider-Man in their very origin stories. This meant that Venom had to have his origins rewritten somewhat, and rather than starting off as a villain against Peter Parker who later becomes an antihero, he instead begins as a “Lethal Protector” vigilante. Unfortunately, this also removed some of the interest in the movies, especially those without Venom.

The latter is at least immensely popular in his own right, which is why the character has been able to lead two films without the Wall-Crawler anywhere around. That’s not how things were with Madame Web and Morbius, however, who are more tangential characters in the Spider-Man mythos. Morbius is one of his more obscure villains, with his biggest claim to fame being in the 1990s cartoon, Spider-Man: The Animated Series. By contrast, Madame Web hasn’t been relevant to Spider-Man in any medium since the 1980s comic books. Thus, launching their solo movies without any sort of ties to Spider-Man diminished their likelihood of success, especially since it’s not as if the cards were beyond Sony’s hands to deal.

Sony has the cinematic rights to Spider-Man and several of his related characters, and they merely share these rights for Marvel Cinematic Universe productions from Marvel Studios such as Spider-Man: No Way Home. This was showcased right after the release of Endgame, with Sony temporarily breaking its ties to Marvel Studios before coming back to an agreement. In other words, using Spider-Man in a movie is always something that Sony can do, even if it’s in a movie that has nothing to do with superheroes. Thus, there was no reason for the studio to keep Spider-Man out of the “Sony Spider-Man Universe,” regardless of whatever Marvel Studios may have wanted.

Of course, this might have required some central planning for the shared universe, which Sony clearly didn’t have beyond pitting Venom against Carnage in the former’s second movie. Now, Venom: The Last Dance is the culmination of a franchise that has yet to take flight, and it may be the second-to-last part of the shared universe. With no one knowing what Sony will do after the release of Kraven the Hunter in December, Venom’s last dance may also be one of the SSU’s swan songs.

Venom: The Last Dance

Eddie Brock and his symbiote partner, Venom, face their greatest challenge yet when a new, powerful threat emerges. As they navigate the dark underworld of their city, Eddie and Venom must confront their own demons and push their limits to protect those they care about. Their bond is tested like never before, leading to a climactic showdown that will determine their fate and the future of their symbiotic relationship.

Director

Kelly Marcel

Release Date

October 25, 2024

Cast

Tom Hardy , Juno Temple , Chiwetel Ejiofor , Rhys Ifans , Alanna Ubach , Stephen Graham

Writers

Tom Hardy , Kelly Marcel

Main Genre

Adventure

Studio(s)

Columbia Pictures , Marvel Entertainment , Pascal Pictures

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