Venom: The Last Dance Release Date, Plot, Cast, Trailer And More Details

A few short years ago, the notion of a standalone "Venom" film — almost entirely separated from the "Spider-Man" corner of the Marvel world — may have seemed like a bizarre proposition. Now, following the smashing success of "Venom" in 2018 and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" in 2021, the symbiotic antihero has become one of the most essential characters in the Sony-owned Marvel roster, as well as the lead of a billion-dollar franchise.

The series has found success largely thanks to two major factors. First, Venom has been one of Spider-Man's most popular foes since he first appeared in the 1980s. Second, Tom Hardy absolutely owns the dual roles of Eddie Brock and his alien counterpart, giving wonderfully wild performances as the high-strung reporter and his always-hungry symbiote. But when will we see this killer couple back on the big screen? Well, it looks like our extraterrestrial boy is getting a serious craving for more chocolate (or human brains) because "Venom 3" — now titled "Venom: The Last Dance" — is on the way, and here's everything we know about the upcoming superhero movie.

The last time we saw Eddie Brock and his toothy pal, they were actually moonlighting in someone else's movie, appearing in the post-credit scene for "Spider-Man: No Way Home." After Dr. Strange's spell sent them back to their own dimension, we've been waiting for Venom's grand return, and now we know exactly when the heads will start to fly.

At one point, the third "Venom" was aiming for an October 2024 release date, but due to the 2023 actors' strike, Sony Pictures shuffled their schedule around and bumped the movie up to July 12. However, it wouldn't stay there for long. When the actors' strike finally ended in November 2023, Sony decided to kick "Venom: The Last Dance" back a couple of months to November 2024. But now, the movie is moving back to October, with a — hopefully final – release date of October 25, 2024. It looks like October will be a big month for darker comic book characters, as "Joker: Folie à Deux" comes out just a few weeks earlier.

The last time we saw Eddie Brock and Venom, they were being zapped around the multiverse courtesy of Dr. Strange. Now that they're back in their own dimension, what will happen next for our favorite superhero duo? Well, per the official plot synopsis for "Venom: The Last Dance," "Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie's last dance."

Based on that summary and what we've seen in the official trailer, it appears the U.S. government is after Venom, and it also seems like residents of Venom's homeworld are looking for a little trouble. It also seems clear that Patrick Mulligan — the detective from "Let There Be Carnage" — isn't doing very well. We're assuming that he's been possessed by Toxin, one of the most powerful symbiotes and an offspring of Carnage. In the comics, Toxin has intense levels of bloodlust but often finds himself fighting for good when he's bonded with Mulligan, so it remains to be seen who the detective will help in this final showdown.

You can't have a "Venom" movie without Tom Hardy. Aside from perhaps Bane in "The Dark Knight Rises," Eddie Brock has to be Hardy's most famous character. He clearly relishes playing the perpetually overwhelmed journalist and the constantly angry but well-meaning alien, but who will be joining Hardy in this third outing for Sony?

Well, as previously mentioned, Stephen Graham will return as Detective Patrick Mulligan (and possibly his symbiote Toxin), and we'll also see Peggy Lu back as the hilariously cranky Mrs. Chen. Juno Temple of "Ted Lasso" fame looks to be playing a military scientist named Dr. Payne, and speaking of the beloved Apple TV+ soccer series, Dani Rojas himself — Cristo Fernández — will reprise his part as the bartender from "Spider-Man: No Way Home."

As for who appears to be the film's human big bad, Chiwetel Ejiofor — who plays Mordo in the MCU's "Doctor Strange" series — seems to be a military officer hunting Venom down. According to reliable scooper Daniel Richtman, Ejiofor will be playing Orwell Taylor, who in the comics is the leader of a vigilante group called The Jury, which was created to kill "Venom." And weirdly, Rhys Ifans will also star. Why is that weird, you ask? Because Ifans is already a big part of Sony's "Spider-Man" lore, having starred as Curt Connors/The Lizard in the Andrew Garfield Spidey movies and in "No Way Home" — which also featured a Venom cameo. Will Ifans be appearing as some sort of Curt Connors variant, or is Sony just getting wild here and casting whoever they want regardless of previous movies? Either way, we're psyched to see Ifans involved.

The trailer for "Venom: The Last Dance" promises a wild time at the theater — and perhaps one that's a tad bittersweet. It opens with Eddie and Venom recently arriving back in their universe after the magical chaos of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." They immediately find themselves in trouble, facing off with a group of dog fighters. Needless to say, things don't go well for the abusive animal owners, and soon enough, Eddie has freed the canines, and Venom has helped himself to a little snack.

But it's not all fine dining in "The Last Dance." It appears the U.S. military is on the hunt for symbiotes, as they've locked up the possessed Patrick Mulligan and now they're hunting our boy Brock. There's also a pretty scary looking monster on the loose — is it a symbiote itself or perhaps a Xenophage (a creature that eats symbiotes)? Whatever this beast is, it definitely wants to take a bite out of Venom.

The trailer also gives us a ton of fun visuals, like Venom dancing with Mrs. Chen at a high-class casino, an airplane battle miles above the ground, and Venom possessing a horse so Eddie can take a super fast ride through the desert. Sadly, the trailer also implies this could be the end of the road for our heroes, with Eddie saying they might not make it out alive and Venom gravely intoning, "The time has come." Are these two going out in a blaze of glory together or — worse yet — permanently breaking up?

The original "Venom" was directed by Ruben Fleischer of "Zombieland" fame, while the sequel was helmed by the one and only Andy Serkis. Will either of these filmmakers be coming back for the madness of "Venom: The Last Dance?" Well, as it turns out, the third movie will be overseen by a first-time director but someone who's been a crucial component to the success of the "Venom" franchise.

"Venom: The Last Dance" will be helmed by Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the original installment and wrote the sequel solo. Reportedly, Marcel and Hardy majorly vibe when it comes to what makes Venom special, seeing eye to eye on where to take the character. So, in addition to directing "The Last Dance," Marcel is also writing the script, with a story she developed with Hardy himself. In addition to the "Venom" series, Marcel penned "Saving Mr. Banks" and the script for "Fifty Shades of Grey," and not only does she have Hardy's support, she also has Andy Serkis in her corner.

Speaking with /Film, the Gollum actor turned director explained that he couldn't work on part three because he was busy with his adaptation of "Animal Farm." However, he's super psyched for what the superhero series has in store, explaining, "I'm really delighted that Kelly's doing ['Venom 3']. She's so in control of that material with Tom. The pair of them are such a great team to work with. I'm really excited to see what they're going to come up with."

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Everybody's super psyched to see Venom back in action, but will this be the last time we see the gooey superhero on the big screen? In November 2023, Tom Hardy took to Instagram and shared a photo celebrating the film's upcoming release. In the post, he praised the cast and crew, writing, "We've come a long way. It's been and continues to be a lot of fun, this journey. There's always hard turns to burn when we work, but doesn't feel as hard when you love what you do and when you know you have great material and the support, at all sides, of a great team."

In the same Instagram post, Hardy also described the third "Venom" movie as "the last dance," which was later announced to be the proper title of the film. Could this mean Eddie Brock only has one more adventure left? Sadly, Tom Rothman — the chairman of the Sony Motion Picture Group — confirmed as much to Deadline, telling the trade this would indeed be "the third and last 'Venom.'"

Still, in an era of cinematic universes and endless sequels, it's hard to imagine Venom just disappearing, especially since we've yet to see him interact with Spider-Man. There have been rumors of a Sinister Six film, so perhaps "Venom 3" will be the last proper Venom movie, but we'll still see Eddie join up with characters like Kraven the Hunter and Michael Keaton's Vulture in a spin-off movie. Or — with a title like "The Last Dance" — maybe the actor really will just waltz off into the sunset for good after the credits roll.