Although one lives in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the other one in Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, Spider-Man and Venom could team-up in Spider-Man 3 – here’s how. After two reboots and living in its own universe, Spider-Man was finally able to join other Marvel heroes in the MCU thanks to a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios. The web-slinger then made his debut in Captain America: Civil War, where he joined Team Iron Man for a while, and returned in his first solo film, Spider-Man: Homecoming. Spider-Man later joined the rest of the MCU in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame before closing the Infinity saga with his second solo adventure, Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Venom, on the other hand, hasn’t had the same luck on the big screen. The first cinematic adaptation of Eddie Brock/Venom happened in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, with Topher Grace playing the photographer who is bound to an alien symbiote (after Peter Parker rejects it). Raimi originally didn’t want to use Venom in the film, but after pressure from producer Avi Arad, he ended up adding it to a story that already had too many villains. Venom got a second chance in 2018 with a solo film starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and directed by Ruben Fleischer, and being part of the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. Although it received mostly negative reviews, Venom was very well-received by the audience and became a box-office hit, which made way for a sequel and other projects from Sony’s universe to be greenlit.
One of those projects is Morbius, which confirmed in its first trailer that it’s connected to the MCU, which in turn confirms that Venom is also connected to it. This opens the door to a future encounter between the current Spider-Man and Venom, and the latter’s second film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, could set everything up for a proper team-up with Spider-Man in the MCU, finally bringing both universes together and without seeing them fight each other. Here’s how it could happen.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Will Likely Meet Tom Hardy’s Venom
Since a solo Venom movie was announced, fans have been waiting for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to meet Eddie and the symbiote, but it wasn’t clear if that could be possible given that Sony’s Marvel Universe was believed to be completely separate from the MCU, with Spider-Man being the only connecting link between them. The appearance of Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes in Morbius made it clear that both worlds exist within the same universe, and if Vulture can show up on Sony’s side, then Spider-Man can do so too.
Spider-Man has been heavily rumored to make a cameo appearance in Venom 2, which Sony won’t confirm nor deny, so the possibility is still there – and if not then, they will eventually meet in the near future. Spider-Man’s cameo would make it easier for Eddie Brock/Venom to show up in the web-slinger’s third solo adventure within the MCU, which would benefit both as well as other projects from Sony’s Marvel universe.
Why Spider-Man & Venom Could Team-Up In The MCU
Although fans are waiting to see Spider-Man and Venom fighting each other, the MCU would most likely take a different approach. Surely, Venom has only had one solo film so far, but it was enough to establish that this version isn’t really a villain (though he is quite chaotic), which will most likely continue in Venom 2 as he will fight Carnage (Woody Harrelson). Now, the MCU doesn’t really have reasons to change this, as it fits quite well with what it has been doing so far with its characters. The MCU hasn’t been afraid to change a character to better fit the story it wants to tell (for example, Ned Leeds, the best friend of the current Peter Parker, takes on the mantle of the Hobgoblin in the comics), so it wouldn’t be surprising if it goes for a team-up between Spider-Man and Venom instead of having them fight, bringing a spin to their dynamic.
One way this team-up could happen is if Spider-Man helps Venom on his fight against Carnage in Venom 2. Eddie Brock would then owe him, and a way to pay him back would be by joining forces once again to defeat whatever threat Spider-Man comes across with in his third solo film. Eddie Brock could even help Peter regain some anonymity after the reveal of his identity in Spider-Man: Far From Home, putting those investigative skills to great use in the MCU. In addition to that, this Spider-Man/Venom team-up would not only impact their respective solo films but also future projects from Sony’s side, most notably Sinister Six.
If a Sinister Six film is to happen in the near future (which is more likely now with Morbius, Vulture, and Venom confirmed to exist in the same universe), Venom’s team-up with Spider-Man would definitely affect his future alliances. If the Sinister Six don’t go through major changes and are indeed villains, Venom might not be that willing to join them and instead try to stop them – or, if he does join, his alliance with Spider-Man would be over, making way for a bigger conflict in future movies and the long-awaited fight between them.
What This Would Mean For Spider-Man 3 (& Venom’s Future)
Spider-Man 3 could be the stage for the long-awaited meet-up between the current versions of Peter Parker and Eddie Brock, but teaming-up doesn’t mean that the fight can't happen. Their alliance could happen after a couple of punches or the fight could arrive in the near future – as mentioned above, if Sinister Six is to happen and Venom decides to join, that could be the fight fans have been waiting for. If all goes well with the team-up in Spider-Man 3, it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility that they joined forces again in the near future. Again, there’s the other side of the coin when it comes to Sinister Six, where Venom instead of joining them chooses to fight them, and he could very well use Spider-Man’s help once more.
The future of Spider-Man beyond Spider-Man 3 is unknown, but Venom can keep on living after it. By having them work together, Venom would show that he can work well with others while also proving that this version is not really a villain. This could (once more) impact his involvement in Sinister Six, which could see Venom go through an identity crisis where he doesn’t know on which side he should be, as he would have already worked with a superhero, but he might agree with what the Sinister Six are planning. Venom could then fluctuate between villain and (very chaotic) hero, making this version of the character more interesting to follow and opening a lot of doors for it.
