Venom Movie Ending Explained: Lethal Protector & Sequel Plans

WARNING: Major spoilers for Venom.

The ending of the Venom movie leaves Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his slithering symbiote parasite in an interesting position. No, there's no Spider-Man surprise connecting Venom to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, nor much set up for where Sony's own villain universe is heading (beyond its own sequel). Still, it's a pretty neat ending to Eddie's inaugural story that promises cooler things to come.

Venom follows Eddie Brock's first run-in with the alien symbiote, becoming its unwitting host while investigation the obviously-nefarious Life Foundation and its merciless self-made CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). As Eddie is hunted by Life and attempts to reveal the truth, he and Venom begin to form a humorous split-personality friendship and agree to work together: to help Eddie improve his life and Venom stop evil symbiote Riot from leaving Earth and leading a war against humanity.

There's a lot of increasingly crazy ideas going on in Venom, from man's impending extinction making us the target of aliens (something that was also the motivation for last month's The Predator) and the fight for the little man via good journalism, but the major aspect is the symbiosis of Eddie Brock and Venom, and all the morality that comes with it. So, what exactly happens in Venom's ending and what does it mean for the future? Let's take a look.

This Page: Venom Becomes The Lethal Protector Just Like The Comics
Page 2: What Venom's Ending Means For Venom 2

What Happens In Venom's Ending

Riot, the host-jumping, knife-creating symbiote team leader, wants to escape Earth (after being brought here by the Life Foundation) to return to its home planet (Klyntar in the comics) so it can bring back an army. It takes control of Carlton Drake and commandeers one of the Life Foundation's rockets. Venom, however, has found an affinity with fellow loser Eddie and decides to help out humanity.

After a long fight, Venom finally beats Riot by leaking the rocket's fuel and engulfing the entire ship in flames. Fire is one of the main weaknesses of symbiotes in the comics, and while the movie focuses more on sound, it's clearly true in the movie too - Riot is engulfed and presumably killed. Venom then sacrifices himself in the explosion to keep Eddie safe... or so it seems.

The movie ends with Eddie rekindling the flame with Anne Weying (Michelle Williams), their symbiote-aided kiss leaving the door open for their relationship. Of course, he has a secret - Venom is alive after all, and together he and Eddie decide to live together and fight the real bad guys (albeit in a pretty brutal manner).

How Venom Survived

The big question from the end of Venom is how exactly the eponymous monster survived. He's seen seemingly engulfed by flames, yet it right there in Eddie's head during the next conversation with Anne.

A rather limp solution is that he was never dead, the "goodbye" line was more symbolic/to trick audiences - something the quick editing of the entire death fakeout attests to: there's barely any time to "mourn" Venom. However, there could be more to it. It's stated repeatedly throughout the film that symbiotes protect humans and humans allow symbiotes to live on Earth: being connected to Eddie may have allowed Venom to survive, making him more powerful and providing a further reason for the pair to continue working together.

Eddie & Venom Become The Lethal Protector

At the end of Venom, the central duo reaches a new status quo. They're going to co-exist, working together to take down bad people - like the goon who robs Eddie's local minimart - shown best in the proclamation, "We are Venom".

This may seem a rather odd endpoint given Venom is typically a villain; even with the marketing drawing attention to this being an anti-hero film, this is a rather goody-two-shoes resolution. In reality, though, it's incredibly fitting. Venom is best known as a Spider-Man villain, first his parasitic Secret Wars suit and later possessing Peter Parker's work rival, but that's all over 25 years old, in which time a lot has changed around the symbiote and its mythology. Indeed, at the end of the first Eddie Brock Venom arc in Spider-Man comics, he reached a deal with the wall-crawler to not kill anyone. This ethos was carried through into Venom's solo comic, with Lethal Protector - the first six-issue arc - establishing Eddie and Venom as a darker hero for San Francisco.

Lethal Protector is one of the comics on which Venom is (loosely) based - there's the Life Foundation and multiple symbiotes in the movie, but no underground societies or Spider-Man team up - and the movie's ending honors that by putting the characters in the same place.

And with all that said, we need to look at what comes next...

Page 2 of 2: What Venom's Ending Means For Venom 2

Anne Weying walks through a glass office in Venom

Venom Will Try And Win Anne Back

Venom is a fast-paced movie, and one of the biggest casualties of that is Anne Weying. Michelle Williams, like Tom Hardy, is a higher calibre actor than you'd expect in a film like this, and that gives Anne some gravitas not in the script. She's very much a love interest, estranged in the first act, although does still get the striking She-Venom scene where Eddie and Venom makeout, as well as the end object of his desire.

Both of these aspects are sure to return in Venom 2 (assuming Michelle Williams comes back). Eddie clearly wants to rekindle things with Anne, and there's no way that someone as inconsequential as her doctor boyfriend will stand in his way. That said, she's typically remembered as his ex-wife, so the love may be unrequited.

The bigger tease, though, is the female Venom. In the comics, Anne becomes She-Venom by accident while trying to calm Eddie down, later committing unspeakable acts that shake her to her core and eventually lead to her suicide. This aspect is hinted at in her mild PTSD in the conversation with Eddie at the end of Venom - she did eat a person, after all - but the onus is put on the symbiote. It would definitely be interesting to see her taken again and more unsettled by her potential actions (although perhaps with a more optimistic outcome).

Carnage Is Coming In Venom 2

But She-Venom isn't the only symbiote host to expect in Venom 2, as teased in the mid-credits scene. This sees Eddie visit San Quentin State Prison to interview serial killer Cletus Kasady. Played by Woody Harrelson, this Annie-mopped psychopath has requested an interview with the once-again-successful reporter, declaring that once he's out there will be "carnage".

The meaning of this is incredibly simple: Carnage is coming. Kasady is best known by his symbiotic alter ego, a more dangerous offspring of Venom turned into an unstoppable killer thanks to the murderer's already fractured psyche. While there are no hints of how Kasady would be infected - in the comics he's taken by a Venom seed while Eddie is also in prison, something that's likely going to be altered in light of the movie status quo (and Riot having many of Carnage's classic abilities) - this nevertheless establishes him as a major threat. Whether it's actually for Venom 2 or something approaching a full-scale Maximum Carnage event remains to be seen.

What's so impressive about Venom's sequel set up is its restraint. Anything relating to Eddie as Lethal Protector, Anne as She-Venom or Cletus Kasady as Carnage is focused very much on the arc of this singular movie or put in the credits. This allows for the B-movie to have a clear focus, and also instills more excitement for wherever Sony's going than a multitude of sequel teases. What every aspect makes abundantly clear is that there is a lot more Venom to come.