For the most part, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe proved to be a failed experiment. The lack of any actual Spider-Man scenes was certainly a major factor in that, but there were also the genuinely awful reviews for Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter. The one bright spot, commercially if not critically, was the Venom trilogy. Of the three final movies in the franchise, all of which were released in 2024, there was only one success and that was Venom: The Last Dance. A fine-though-not-spectacular end to a fine-though-not-spectacular trilogy, The Last Dance once again capitalized on Tom Hardy’s charm and his ability to play off, well, Tom Hardy.

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Like the first two entries of the trilogy, The Last Dance, which is now streaming on Netflix, is a fun if ultimately hollow affair. Going off that, should the viewer not feel quite fulfilled after their screening, there are other movies out there that make for fine companion pieces to The Last Dance, from fellow superhero movies to a horror-action movie with something of a focus on symbiosis.

Blue Beetle

Like Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the DC Extended Universe was ill-fated, but it had its winners just as it had its critical or commercial (and, towards the end, a combination of the two) losers. Blue Beetle was one of the few final DCEU movies that did well critically, even if — like The Flash, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Black Adam, and, unfortunately, The Suicide Squad — it didn’t exactly set the box office on fire (though it is still set for a continuation in the DCU via an animated series).

Like The Last Dance, Blue Beetle focuses on a symbiotic relationship. It’s just, here, there’s a Scarab that latches onto a host and amplifies their abilities as opposed to a goo that does much the same. Blue Beetle is also like the Venom movies in that it’s good but not great, and it should make for an appropriate addition to symbiote double feature night.

Blue Beetle is available to stream on Max.

Upgrade

Before reviving a pair of Universal Monsters with The Invisible Man and Wolf Man, Leigh Whannell helmed Upgrade, a cyberpunk actioner with a terrific lead performance by Logan Marshall-Green. Marshall-Green plays auto mechanic Grey Trace, an extremely technology-averse man whose self-driving car crashes. But it wasn’t an accident, as soon after, a group of men arrived to kill his wife and shoot him in the neck. Rendered quadriplegic, Grey feels helpless until he decides to get a STEM implant, which not only controls motor functions but amplifies them. With this power, he goes on a quest for revenge.

Whereas The Last Dance follows the dynamic between Eddie Brock and Venom, Upgrade shows the increasingly strong bond between Grey and STEM. But whereas in The Last Dance the dynamic is, well, symbiotic, in Upgrade the relationship is far more one-sided, and only the benefitting side is aware of it. With a few especially brutal fights and a great deal of ambition, Upgrade is a movie that deserves a larger fanbase.

Upgrade is available to stream on Netflix.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

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While Spider-Man: No Way Home primarily focuses on the title character, Doctor Strange, his friends, and his previous foes, there are a few minutes carved out for Eddie Brock and Venom. This easily makes it the ultimate companion piece to The Last Dance, as No Way Home leads into the final Venom movie even more than Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Jon Watts really accomplished something of a hat trick with his three (thus far) Spidey movies. It’s not easy to reboot a major IP so soon after another pair of reboots and have the saga feel fresher and, arguably, more entertaining than ever. A lot of it comes down to Tom Holland, who is the best Peter Parker/Spider-Man to date. But an equally large amount of it is due to Watts’ ability to craft a memorable coming-of-age tale while also holding a firm grasp on tense action scenes. He was able to do much the same in Cop Car, which any fan of the director’s work would do well to check out after their Venom and Spider-Man binge.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is available to stream on STARZ.

What movies will you be checking out after Venom: The Last Dance? Let us know in the comments below!