Even casual fans know that the Venom movies – including upcoming threequel, The Last Dance – take their cues from Marvel’s comics. But which of the Marvel-inspired cinematic universes is Venom: The Last Dance set in, exactly?
What Cinematic Universe Is Venom 3 Set In?
Like its predecessors, Venom: The Last Dance takes place in the awkwardly named Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. This is the catch-all label for all of Sony’s live-action, Spidey-adjacent projects released since 2018. So, for those keeping score, the SSU includes Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, Madame Web, Venom: The Last Dance, and Kraven the Hunter. The in-development Spider-Noir TV series falls under the SSU umbrella, as well.
What about Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies? Those are produced and released by Sony too, right? Yes, but crucially, those flicks are also joint ventures with Marvel Studios. As such, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home – not to mention any appearances by Holland’s webslinger in other Marvel Studios-backed outings – go down in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which exists separately from the SSU.
That said, the SSU and the MCU do sometimes intersect. For example, Let There Be Carnage‘s mid-credits scene sees Eddie Brock/Venom mystically teleported from the former to latter. No Way Home then picks up this plot point, devoting its own stinger to Eddie’s return to the SSU. But for logistical (and legal) reasons, such crossovers are rare, which is why Venom: The Last Dance is an SSU joint!
Related: Who Plays Knull in Venom: The Last Dance?
Are the Venom Movies Connected to Any Other Shared Universes?
Yes. As noted above, Eddie Brock has briefly spent time in the MCU thanks to the Venom: Let There Be Carnage/Spider-Man: No Way Home overlap. And this won’t go completely ignored in the third Venom installment, either. As seen in The Last Dance‘s trailer, actor Cristo Fernández will reprise his role as a bartender Eddie meets in No Way Home – or said bartender’s SSU counterpart, more likely. The Last Dance‘s cast also boasts two more MCU alumni, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rhys Ifans, although neither star is currently expected to revisit their MCU roles.
Related: Is Spider-Man in Venom: The Last Dance?
The Venom films aren’t limited solely to the SSU and MCU, though. Unsurprisingly, they also tie-in with Sony’s animated Spider-Verse blockbusters, via the latter’s multiverse-hopping storytelling mechanic. Notably, Across the Spider-Verse includes a prominent cameo by one of the Venom franchise’s supporting characters, Mrs. Chen, during a scene where the Spot experiments with his powers.
Venom: The Last Dance arrives in cinemas on Oct. 25, 2024.
Published: Oct 9, 2024 11:47 am