Venom 3 – How Carnage Can Still Return (Despite The Ending)

Caution: spoilers ahead for Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Venom: Let There Be Carnage gave the first live-action portrayal of Venom’s most infamous enemy but, despite his defeat at the ending of the movie, there’s a chance Carnage may return in the future. After a final battle, Cletus Kasady lies vanquished and separated from the symbiote as it crawls back towards him, but Venom intercepts Carnage, devouring them before they can reunite with their host. However, despite the finality of their defeat, the Venom comics contain hints that this might not be the bloodthirsty alien’s final appearance on screen.

Just as Venom is one of Spider-Man’s most iconic villains, Carnage is no less infamous to comic readers, as the Lethal Protector’s arch-nemesis. The offspring of Venom and among the most brutal of Marvel’s villains, Carnage is as synonymous with Cletus Kasady as Venom is with Eddie Brock. But being a symbiote, Carnage can just as easily operate independently, as well as bond with new hosts. It’s this quality that potentially holds the key to their return.

The worrying thing for Eddie Brock is that, despite being eaten, Carnage may not be dead. In the comic Venom #21, Carnage is absorbed by Venom but survives the ordeal, staying dormant until eventually overpowering Venom and taking control of Eddie. While comic versions of Carnage have a few differences to their newer live-action counterpart, the possibility of similar events happening in future movies opens up some interesting directions those stories could take.

With Venom now having been transported into the MCU, Carnage’s potential escape could lead to any number of interesting situations. Like Venom, past versions of Carnage have bonded with Spider-Man characters like Gwen Stacy and Norman Osborn, who have been notably absent from the MCU so far. As well as being more powerful than Venom, Carnage is also known for finding inventive ways to cheat death, bonding with a shark in Venom #25 to escape destruction. 

Another possibility for future movies is that, if Carnage can return, they may not be the main antagonist. The Venomverse series of comics begins in a way which feels not unlike the post-credits scene of Let There Be Carnage, with Venom suddenly appearing in another dimension. It eventually sees the two symbiotes join forces in a multiverse storyline, alongside characters like Doctor Strange, Spider-Man, and Rocket Raccoon, who are all currently part of the MCU. This would be an ambitious plotline for a future Venom movie but, with the current popularity of Marvel multiverse storylines following Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse, it’s an appealing idea.

There are still too many open questions to say anything definitive about the possibility of Carnage returning in future movies. It’s still anyone’s guess whether Venom will appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, whether they’ll remain in the MCU for a Venom 3 movie, or whether there are entirely different multiverse events happening. Whatever the future may hold, however, with the second biggest box office debut of 2021, the success of Venom: Let There Be Carnage means audiences can expect to see more of the Lethal Protector in the future, with or without their villainous offspring.

About The Author