Venom producer Amy Pascal has confirmed that a sequel is moving forward, with Tom Hardy. Venom surprised many people by making over $800 million, even out-grossing popular comic book films like Wonder Woman and Thor: Ragnarok.

There haven't been many concrete details released regarding the story for Venom's sequel, but back in January, it was reported that Kelly Marcel would be returning to write the script. Venom certainly left the door open to more stories, especially with the mid-credits scene that featured Woody Harrelson playing Cletus Kasady, bluntly teasing Carnage. As for a potential Spider-Man appearance, Venom screenwriter Jeff Pinker said in December that it is "not impossible" for Spider-Man to appear in a future film, while Keven Feige recently said it would probably be up to Sony to bring the two characters together. For now, at the very least, fans can look forward to seeing more of Tom Hardy's portrayal of the Symbiote anti-hero.

In an interview with Fandango, Venom producer Amy Pascal confirmed that the Venom sequel is happening, and that Tom Hardy will be returning. She said, "I can say that Tom Hardy will be back, magnificently playing that character as no one else can."


Pascal was also asked about Venom's massive success, as not many likely expected Venom to do as well as it did. It became one of the highest-grossing films of 2018, beating out movies such as Deadpool 2 and Mission: Impossible - Fallout. Although it did not reach a billion, its $855 million takeaway is impressive. Pascal attributed the movie's success to two factors: Sony creating a franchise surrounding the character, and Tom Hardy's portrayal.

"Sony did a great job creating that franchise and giving it a life and giving it its own world. Then there's Tom Hardy. When you think of Venom, you'll never be able to think of anyone but Tom Hardy sitting in that bathtub of lobsters. And once you saw Tom Hardy do this character, that's all you needed to know."
Indeed, Tom Hardy chomping on live lobsters is a scene no viewer will forget anytime soon. That said, though Venom was a success financially, it was a critical bomb, with its Rotten Tomatoes critic score at 29 percent. A number of factors were criticized, such as the script and climax, though Hardy's performance was praised. Interestingly, the audience Rotten Tomatoes score is 81 percent, meaning that many viewers clearly enjoyed the film. It will be interesting to see if Sony sticks with the more goofy antics of the first film or go for something more serious in the sequel, but for the time being, it remains to be seen.