Why Venom Can’t Be Part Of The Spider-Man 3’s MCU Sinister Six

Warning: Spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

A Venom: Let There Be Carnage post-credit scene may have teased Venom as a Sinister Six villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but there's a reason it likely won't happen. In Venom 2, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his titular symbiote return to take on Woody Harrelson's Cletus Kasady and Carnage. Though the film shows Brock taking on another misguided villain and symbiote, it also features the odd relationship between Brock and Venom. In addition to Hardy returning, the Venom sequel brings back several actors from the original 2018 film. Michelle Williams reprises Anne Weying, Peggy Lu brings back the lovable Mrs. Chen, and Reid Scott reprises his role as Dan Lewis, Weying's new love interest.

Spider-Man 3 has seemingly teased the arrival of the Sinister Six, a group of supervillains with a passion for opposing Spider-Man. In the first trailer for the film, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) goes to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help after the world learns about his Spider-Man identity. Strange attempts a complicated memory wipe spell to help Parker, and, unfortunately, it backfires. After Doctor Strange's No Way Home mistake, past Spider-Man villains, including Alfred Molina's Doc Ock and Jamie Foxx's Electro, arrive in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And it appears the Sinister Six are forming.

A Venom 2 post-credit scene seems to tease Venom's involvement with the Sinister Six, but there's a problem. In the stinger, Brock and Venom are watching TV when suddenly their room begins to change. Their surroundings become much nicer, and the TV starts broadcasting J. Jonah Jameson's (J.K. Simmons) report about Spider-Man's identity in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Considering how Strange's spell transports various Spider-Man villains to the MCU, the spell also likely led to the change in surroundings for Venom. However, there's a reason the character won't be part of a Sinister Six team-up.

First and foremost, Venom isn't a villain. In 2018's Venom, Brock makes a deal with Venom, saying he isn't allowed to eat just anyone he wants. Instead, Brock says Venom can only eat "very, very bad people," and the symbiote agrees. Shortly after, he attacks a mugger who's messing with Mrs. Chen. Then, in Venom 2, the symbiote goes head-to-head against Carnage and serial killer Cletus Kasady. Venom is an antihero who likes to bite heads off, but he strictly focuses on the heads of villains, not the noggin of a friendly, neighborhood Spider-Man. Given the symbiote's history in Venom and Venom 2, it's doubtful that he'd participate in the Sinister Six, especially when characters like Alfred Molina's Doc Ock are unambiguously villainous.

There is one possible way Venom could become a villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but it'd just be temporary. In Spider-Man: Far From Home, J. Jonah Jameson presents Spider-Man as a villain in news footage, claiming he killed Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) and revealing his identity. In Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom appears to be watching the same footage. If Venom thinks Spider-Man is the big bad, he could align with the Sinister Six villains against the web-slinger. However, Venom introduces Brock as an investigative journalist, so eventually, he'd discover the facts. Venom's stint as a villain wouldn't last long, but it could be enough to give Spider-Man a severe headache.

More: Doctor Strange’s Spider-Man: No Way Home Mistake Was Set-Up In Infinity War