In a since deleted social media post, Tom Hardy confirms Venom 2 has started production. While the first Venom movie was by no means a critical darling, it was a tremendous box office success for Sony. Breaking all-time October records in its opening weekend, Venom scored $856 million globally, ensuring that sequels would be made. After the failure of the Amazing Spider-Man series, Sony finally had their own comic book movie franchise they could develop. Venom's performance opened the door for other titles based on Spider-Man characters, like Morbius.

Sony wasted no time getting Venom 2 off the ground, officially moving forward with the project earlier this year. Andy Serkis is calling the shots, directing a cast that includes Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, and possibly Naomie Harris as the villainous Shriek. Though no Venom 2 release date is confirmed at this time, the general assumption is it will take the October 2020 slot Sony claimed last year. Based on the latest update, it looks like that could be the plan.

On his Instagram account, Hardy shared a behind-the-scenes picture, confirming Venom 2 has started filming (corroborating earlier rumors). He has now deleted the post, by Reddit user MrStark3000 was able to snag a screenshot. Check it out in the space below:


For comparison's sake, the original Venom began filming in October 2017 and wrapped in January 2018, so the sequel is following a similar timeline. Comic book movies typically start rolling a year before they premiere, so this development would put Venom 2 on track for the aforementioned October 2020 release. It'll be interesting to see what kind of impact Venom 2 has on The Batman's filming schedule. Serkis, of course, is confirmed to be playing Alfred Pennyworth in Matt Reeves' DC film. If Venom 2 is shooting now, odds are Batman won't be in front of the cameras until some point in 2020. Since Warner Bros. has that tentpole scheduled for June 2021, there will be plenty of time for both Serkis and Reeves to complete their respective comic book movies.

That Hardy deleted his post indicates he jumped the gun and made an announcement before Sony wanted. Studios like to make formal reveals about when the most-anticipated projects on their slate have started filming (usually in conjunction with a full casting list), so it's possible Sony had something special planned. In all likelihood, they'll probably come out with something in the relatively near future to start the Venom 2 hype train. At the very least, it would be nice to have confirmation about Harris' involvement.

Morbius (2020) release date: Jul 31, 2020