When the credits roll on a superhero movie, fans expect something extra during or after the credits — a bonus scene or two that hopefully will give us a tease about what’s coming next. The MCU never had a monopoly on that practice, since “X-Men: The Last Stand” had already done one before the shared universe existed, but it popularized the practice to the point where we now tend to expect them on all blockbusters. And that includes “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.”
The first movie came with a mid-credits scene that teased Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady, who would of course end up being the sequel’s Carnage. It also ran with a sneak peak at “Spider-Verse” after the credits. And, of course, we all expect pretty much any Marvel movie, MCU or not, to have something extra after the credits start.
And, yeah, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” does have something extra for you, midway through the credits. There’s nothing at the end of the credits.
The remainder of this post will consist mostly of spoilers.
So what’s in the ‘Venom 2’ mid-credits scene?
While this movie might not be a part of the MCU, it looks like Venom himself might soon be — at least briefly.
At the end of the film, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom are taking a tropical vacation. Venom tells Eddie that the symbiotes have experienced stuff that no human can imagine, and he promises to give Eddie a glimpse. The lights dim, night turns to day, and Venom very much has no idea what’s going on — this is not what he was going to show Eddie.
We hear a familiar voice on the TV: JK Simmons as J Jonah Jameson. He’s ranting about the menace of Spider-Man. Tom Holland’s picture appears on screen. Venom thinks he looks tasty.
What does this mean? Well, it seems like a safe bet that we’re going to see Venom in “Spider-Man: No Way Home” in December along with the other folks from Sony’s non-MCU Marvel movies. I wouldn’t expect a huge role for Venom there — he’ll probably just be around for a few minutes to beat up Spider-Man and bail.
As for his MCU future beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess. Mine would be that there aren’t any MCU “Venom” movies on the horizon, but the introduction of the multiverse will allow them to have him drop in when it makes sense to do so. Venom isn’t quite tonally compatible with the MCU — he’s got a bit too much of an edge, and he’s a bit too weird and out of step with the vibe.
And, also, maybe Venom is better when he’s isolated like this. I always kinda hated Venom in the comics, because he doesn’t really fit with the ensemble. But having him partitioned off by himself the way these movies have him seems to be working pretty well.