Is Spider-Man in Venom: The Last Dance?

Fans are desperate for Peter Parker and his wall-crawling alter-ego to make a cameo in the third Venom installment – but will their wish come true? Is Spider-Man in Venom: The Last Dance?

Will Spider-Man Be in Venom 3?

There’s currently no indication that Spider-Man will appear in Venom: The Last Dance. Marvel’s flagship character doesn’t appear in the threequel’s trailer, and Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland – the trio of stars who’ve portrayed Spidey in live-action – aren’t attached to the production. Holland has acknowledged that he and producer Amy Pascal discussed the possibility of his Spider-Man showing up in The Last Dance, however, this was before Marvel Studios re-upped its deal to essentially “borrow” Holland’s webslinger for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Said deal seemingly nixed any plans for a fully-fledged Venom/Spider-Man crossover.

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That said, Venom: The Last Dance definitely contains at least one nod to its protagonist’s comic book nemesis – and the MCU. As seen in the trailer, actor Cristo Fernández will portray the same bartender who appeared in Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s mid-credits scene. In that scene, an uncredited Tom Hardy reprised the Eddie Brock role, after Brock teleported to the MCU at the end of the second Venom flick, Let There Be Carnage. He’s not in the MCU long enough to directly interact with Peter Park or Spider-Man, though. By the time the brief stinger is over, Brock is back in his home reality, Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Presumably, an identical variant of Fernández’s bartender lives there, too!

Does Venom 3 Have Any Other MCU Connections?

So, Venom: The Last Dance probably won’t boast a Spider-Man cameo – but will it at least tip its cap to wider MCU canon? Yes, although not necessarily in the way most fans would’ve wanted. Aside from Fernández’s return as No Way Home‘s bartender (or, more likely, his alternate universe doppelganger), the third Venom movie also features two other MCU veterans, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rhys Ifans. Ejiofor played Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Ifans portrayed Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard in No Way Home. Neither actor is expected to reprise their MCU roles; some reports have even named Ifans’ character “Martin” (not Curt).

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If so, Ifans casting represents the latest continuity wrinkle for the already hard-to-follow SSU. After all, Ifans’ Lizard debuted in 2012’s The Amazing Spider-Man – produced solely by Sony. As such, this technically means that two people are currently running around the SSU sporting Ifans’ likeness! However, given Sony typically limits the SSU to its Spider-Man-inspired projects post-Venom, Ifans’ Lizard could (and probably does) exist in yet another continuity separate from the SSU.

Venom: The Last Dance arrives in cinemas on Oct. 25, 2024.