Venom: Let There Be Carnage's surprising runtime has been officially confirmed. The sequel to 2018's Venom, which sees Tom Hardy reprise his role as journalist and symbiote host Eddie Brock, was directed by Andy Serkis. Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set to release theatrically in the US on October 1.
Serkis' film is the second entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, which draws on the friendly neighborhood hero and related Marvel Comics characters to craft a shared universe of films. Though Spider-Man has been included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since his appearance in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Sony retains the rights to the popular character, and the latest renegotiation of their agreement with Marvel Studios stipulates that he be shared between the two franchises. Since Hardy was seen wearing a Spider-Man: No Way Home hat, there has been speculation that the upcoming MCU film will hold the first crossover, but that has not yet been confirmed.
However, what has been made official is Venom: Let There Be Carnage's runtime, confirmed by Fandango's Erik Davis. In their pre-sale pages, movie theaters had been listing a duration that would make Venom 2 one of the shortest superhero blockbusters of the last decade, beaten only by 2020's The New Mutants. Fans were skeptical that this information was genuine, but Davis has learned the official runtime is only 97 minutes:
This trend-bucking length clocks in at 15 minutes shorter than Venom, and Serkis has addressed why Venom 2 is so short in his press appearances. The director expressed a desire to cut down on exposition, which has plagued many a superhero movie, and structure his film as a thrill ride, both of which necessitated a certain pace. However, he claims that the key story beats he wanted to explore - the relationship between Eddie and Venom, and the arc of Woody Harrelson's villain Carnage - came with their own momentum that naturally pushed the film to its conclusion more quickly.
Fans might be divided over Venom: Let There Be Carnage being unusually short. On the one hand, the genre's audience is used to a certain level of expanse and immersion, and those who love these characters might feel shortchanged by getting less time with them than they expected. On the other, however, the prospect of a superhero film that is intent on tackling the things that have bogged down its less successful predecessors could seem exciting. Viewers will have to wait until Venom 2 releases to see if Serkis' gamble pays off, but if it does, it could signal a way forward for Sony's nascent universe.
Source: Erik Davis
