What Tom Hardy’s Venom 2 Writing Credit Means To Him

Actor Tom Hardy explains what it means to him to have a writing credit on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Hardy returns to the role of Eddie Brock/Venom for the sequel, which pits him against the famed symbiote villain known as Carnage/Cletus Kasady, as played by Woody Harrelson. The first film was released in 2018 and made $856 million worldwide, which guaranteed a sequel. Director Andy Serkis helmed the sequel, which will also introduce another symbiote villain in the form of Naomie Harris’ Shriek.

The script for Venom: Let There Be Carnage is by Kelly Marcel, who also worked on the first film. However, for the sequel, Tom Hardy is given a “story by” credit. Hardy is known to be very involved in the development of his characters and, for the Venom series, he is also pulling double duty as both Eddie Brock and Venom. Hardy supplies the voice for the symbiote as well as his human counterpart, making for a unique acting challenge and one that has led him to be more involved in the story.

In an interview with Collider, Hardy goes into what it means to him to have a writing credit on Venom: Let There Be Carnage, saying that he feels like part of the family as it relates to creating the story for the film. The actor collaborated with screenwriter Kelly Marcel throughout the process, saying they wanted to create a “sandbox” to work within, having learned many lessons from the first film that they could apply to the new one. Hardy says that it’s mostly stuff he already does as an actor, so ultimately being a part of the story team didn’t feel like much of a change for him. Here’s his full quote:

“It just means that, uh, I’m not really sure as much. I think it’s just established that I’m part of the family of just in the collaboration of being invested within being responsible to the story. It’s not far from what I do anyway as an actor. I’ve just invested in, having done the first one, cared to pitch for the second one as soon as they found out that they wanted to do another one. Really Kelly [Marcel] and I really wanted to have a shot at creating a sandbox so we could work inside of that and build on the work and what we learned from the first film and roll that back in and work with the studio to push forward. So, it’s just making up stories, really, and problem solving. Not dissimilar to what I did on Taboo. Stuff that I do anyway as an actor now. I guess somebody said, ‘yeah, yeah, they’re giving me a bit of a credit for it, but it’s not much of a change for me.”

Hardy is currently at work on the action/thriller Havoc from The Raid director Gareth Evans, co-starring Timothy Olyphant and Forest Whitaker. From there, Hardy is expected to begin work on the Navy SEAL film War Party, which is set to be directed by Andrew Dominik. While a Furiosa prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road is gearing up for production, it’s unclear if Hardy will return as Mad Max in the near future. Hardy recently teased a potential Venom appearance in the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home in a social media post, but it’s unclear if that will be the case for the secretive sequel releasing in December.

Hardy has always been intensely involved with the films he’s in, so it seems like a natural fit that he’d receive a writing credit at this point. That said, Hardy also comes across as an actor that trusts his creative partners on any given project and is likely to stay within his bounds depending on the needs of the production. Venom is a unique role for the actor and has allowed him to show off more of his comedic side than in any other role he’s played. While some may dismiss the Venom films as flashy spectacle, Hardy elevates the material simply by the investment he makes in it, leaving nothing on the table in terms of performance, regardless of how the film turns out. With the hype levels for Venom: Let There Be Carnage as high as they are, it seems likely that Hardy will be back on story duties for a third film in no time.

Source: Collider

About The Author