Director Andy Serkis opens up about why Venom: Let There Be Carnage's runtime is shorter than that of its 2018 box office hit predecessor. Picking up two years after the events of the first Venom, the sequel finds Eddie Brock attempting to adjust to his life as a lethal vigilante utilizing the powers of the titular alien symbiote while also revitalizing his journalistic career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady ahead of his execution. However, things go awry and Kasady becomes the host to the deadly symbiote Carnage and goes on a murderous rampage through San Francisco, which only Eddie and Venom can stop.
Tom Hardy returns to lead the cast as Eddie/Venom alongside Woody Harrelson as Kasady/Carnage, Michelle Williams as Eddie's ex Anne Weying, Reid Scott as Anne's fiancé Dan and Peggy Lu as local convenience store owner Mrs. Chen. Venom: Let There Be Carnage will also mark the debuts of super-powered villain and Kasady's love interest Shriek, portrayed by Naomie Harris, and San Francisco Police Detective Mulligan on the track to find the bodies of Kasady's victims, played by Stephen Graham. As the film finally nears its October arrival, new revelations for the sequel have come out, including its shortened runtime of approximately 90 minutes long, and now an explanation has been given for its length.
Serkis recently participated in a Q&A with IGN on Instagram for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, during which he opened up about the shorter runtime. The director stated the decision came from a storytelling one as the creative team didn't want to overstuff its plot or linger on anything too long while still getting as much Carnage in as possible and exploring the relationship between Eddie and Venom. See what Serkis said below:
"We always wanted this film to be a real thrill ride. And a fast, muscular...not hanging around too much with exposition. But having said that, I think what we've done is achieve a real balance between dropping anchor with all of the characters so that you feel that you're fully immersed in them and that we're not just rushing through to the next battle or action part. [We knew we needed to] get Carnage into the story at a certain point and didn't want to linger too long before that happens. But by the same token, what's at the heart of this movie is a fantastic relationship between Eddie and Venom. And so we didn't want to kinda rush through that. [It was] about really nailing the tone, so that it always felt that the comedy was being supported by real emotion and pathos and real feelings. You get sucked in. Like, once Carnage comes to life, Eddie is then trying to track him down. So it had its own internal sort of energy and pace that you couldn't escape."
The announcement of a shorter runtime for Venom: Let There Be Carnage has certainly divided audiences, namely as it not only falls 20 minutes shorter than its predecessor but also puts it as one of the shortest live-action comic book films in over a decade. Some have certainly praised the decision as it keeps the story moving along rather than meandering with needless subplots while others have felt the shorter runtime takes away time from Venom and Carnage getting to battle on screen and for more odd couple antics stemming from Venom and Eddie's relationship. Serkis' explanation for the shorter runtime should put some of these fears to bed and create a point of curiosity for those skeptical of the sequel as a whole.
Going into developing Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Hardy has mentioned the creative team took the criticisms of its predecessor to deliver a better follow-up and a shorter runtime would certainly fix one of the biggest critiques regarding Ruben Fleischer's "unfocused" direction and the inconsistent tone of the first. While a director and star can certainly hold some bias for their own product, Serkis' discussions of the film attempting to better hone in on a balanced tone, introduce Carnage as soon as possible and take the time to develop its characters and story without rushing to the next action sequence is certainly a promising step forward. Only time will tell if the filmmakers succeeded in these efforts when the film arrives in theaters on October 1.
Source: IGN/Instagram
