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Venom 2: Naomie Harris Addresses Reports She'll Play Shriek
While promoting her latest film, Black and Blue, Naomie Harris discussed a potential role in Venom 2. Last week, it was reported that Harris was in talks to play the Spider-Man villain Shriek in the Andy Serkis-directed Venom sequel, which is set to begin filming soon. Sony recently announced an untitled Marvel film scheduled for an October 2020 release date; due to the fact that Venom was released in October of 2018, fans are speculating the sequel will see a similar release window.
The star-studded original, following symbiote-infected journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), was a commercial success, making $855 million worldwide. Venom’s producers, Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal are all returning for the sequel and Kelly Marcel is working on the script. Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Woody Harrelson are all set to reprise their Venom roles, and with Harris potentially joining them, Venom 2 could be just as bankable as its predecessor.
In the new thriller, Black and Blue, Harris plays a rookie policewoman morally equatable with that of the archetypal hero. When asked by Black Film if she was a comic book fan and if she’d enjoy playing a villain, Harris expressed a palpable amount of enthusiasm as well as a desire to work with Serkis and Harrelson, but stressed the fact that she was still in negotiations, and nothing was yet final.
The character of Shriek or Frances Louise Barrion made her Marvel Comics debut in 1993. Shriek is a gothic mutant whose abilities include sound manipulation and a telepathic knack for bringing out the worst in people - she’s very much a 1990s supervillain. During the events of Maximum Carnage, Shriek becomes the love interest of Cletus Kasady/Carnage (Harrelson) while the pair goes around New York on a killing spree. Harris, who is known for playing characters like Eve Moneypenny in the Bond franchise and Paula in Moonlight (for which she received an Oscar nomination), could bring the character to life in a massive way.
Black Film's interview doesn't tell fans much, but Harris' excitement is interesting nonetheless. With an actor of her caliber being scouted by Sony, writer Kelly Marcel must have some big plans for Shriek in Venom 2. After meeting Cletus Kasady at Ravencroft mental institution in the comics, Shriek becomes Carnage’s lover and sidekick. Marcel probably plans on giving Shriek more agency in her cinematic adaptation, perhaps even overshadowing Harrelson’s Carnage. The Maximum Carnage arc (which Shriek may be a signifier of), brought the aforementioned villains into conflict with Spider-Man, Venom, and a slew of other characters (from Iron Fist to Captain America). One can only fathom what Sony, Marvel and potentially, Disney, have planned for Venom 2. The sequel will no doubt be a bigger and darker harbinger of whatever kind of shared universe (and characters) the future holds.
