Venom 2 Credit Scene Links Topher Grace’s Venom To Tom Hardy’s

Warning: Major SPOILERS ahead for Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene could link Topher Grace's Venom to Tom Hardy's through the multiverse. Sony's long-awaited sequel to 2018's Venom pits Hardy's symbiote anti-hero against Carnage for the majority of its runtime, but the very end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage completely changes the franchise and Venom's future. In doing so, the sequel might have even connected Hardy's Venom to the version played by Topher Grace in Spider-Man 3.

While Sony and the Venom franchise have operated independently of the Marvel Cinematic Universe before, Venom 2's post-credits scene officially brings Tom Hardy's Venom to the MCU. The scene begins with Eddie Brock watching TV in a rundown beach hotel room. He begins talking to Venom about everything that the symbiote knows, which includes Venom mentioning that he has knowledge from multiple universes thanks to the symbiote hive mind his species has. Venom offers to show Eddie a glimpse of what he knows, but doesn't have the chance to before the multiverse cracks and they are brought to the main MCU timeline. This is confirmed as Eddie and Venom watch J. Jonah Jameson break the news that Peter Parker is Spider-Man from Spider-Man: Far From Home's post-credits, with Tom Holland's unmasked wall-crawler shown on the TV.

The confirmation that Venom is in the MCU is a big deal, but Venom: Let There Be Carnage also slipped in a possibly important detail with the mention of a symbiote hive mind. While there are theoretically infinite versions of Venom across the multiverse, the only other live-action Venom beyond Hardy's version came in Spider-Man 3 thanks to Topher Grace. Venom 2's hive mind for the symbiotes means that Hardy and Grace's Venoms are connected. This is due to what is rumored to come in the MCU's future. Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man is heavily rumored to appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which will make the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy part of the MCU multiverse canon. Venom 2's post-credits scene already brought the franchise to the same canon, so Maguire's appearance in No Way Home then puts Topher Grace's Venom in the same multiverse as Tom Hardy's.

Topher Grace's Venom might not have nearly as many fans as Tom Hardy's, but linking them together in this fashion might prove to be beneficial. In fact, Venom: Let There Be Carnage's credits already teased how this is the case. When Eddie and Venom see Tom Holland's Peter Parker/Spider-Man on TV, Venom seems to recognize him. All Venom says is "that guy," but that's a strong indication that the symbiote has an understanding of who Peter Parker or Spider-Man is. The vast possibilities of the multiverse could mean any other version of Venom gave Venom 2's version of the symbiote this knowledge, but Spider-Man 3 and Topher Grace's Venom is all the movie really needs to explain how this Venom knows who Spider-Man is.

Based on the origin provided for the symbiotes in Venom and the franchise existing outside the MCU, it is clear that Tom Hardy's Venom has never interacted with Spider-Man before. However, Topher Grace's Venom dealt with Spider-Man quite frequently. It was even this version of Venom that bonded with Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Tom Hardy's Venom could then know a lot about Spider-Man thanks to the symbiote hive mind. He'd have the knowledge that Peter Parker is Spider-Man from Spider-Man 3's Eddie and Peter. Since Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man was responsible for killing that version of Venom, this could even be what makes Tom Hardy's Venom view Tom Holland's Spider-Man as a threat and deliver on the fight Venom: Let There Be Carnage teases.

More: Is Venom In Spider-Man: No Way Home Now?