WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, now playing in theaters.
When Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock made his cinematic debut in 2018’s Venom, the Marvel antihero went up against the villainous symbiote known as Riot. Now, in the 2021 sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Venom is going toe to toe with perhaps his biggest enemy: Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. The two symbiotes have a long shared history in the comics, which makes the sequel not only inevitable but something that fans have been waiting a long time to see on the big screen. But what comes next?
Already, talks are turning to the almost-assured Venom 3. And with Venom’s biggest villain now out of the way, the mystery now becomes who the symbiote will tangle with next. Of course, given the after-credits scene of the film, some may expect Spider-Man to show up in Venom 3. But director Andy Serkis has already said that he believes Venom should face other villains before he comes across Spider-Man. And of those potential adversaries can be found in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy.
Joe Manganiello played the role of Peter Parker’s high school bully Eugene “Flash” Thompson in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. While his role wasn’t incredibly large, hr did play the part of an important supporting character in the Spider-Man mythos — one who would become his very own superhero in the comics. Indeed, while Flash Thompson began his comic book career as a bully, he grew into something else. He joined the army and became a war hero. In 2011, after he tragically lost both his legs in combat, Flash found himself involved with Project Rebirth 2.0 (the same program that created Captain America). There, Flash was bonded with the Venom symbiote, and he became a new kind of super-soldier: Agent Venom.
As Agent Venom, Flash Thompson had a long stint as a Marvel superhero that saw him join several super-teams, from the Secret Avengers to the Guardians of the Galaxy. Even when Eddie Brock would reclaim the symbiote to become Venom once more, Flash wouldn’t stop there — he kept fighting with a different kind of symbiote as Agent Anti-Venom.
Now, Manganiello may have appeared in a different cinematic Spider-Man franchise, but with the doors of the Marvel Multiverse now blown wide open, Manganiello could return to reprise the role of Flash Thompson. After all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: No Way Home is already set to feature to return of characters from Raimi’s Spider-Man films, from J. Jonah Jameson and Doctor Octopus to the Green Goblin. And while Venom may not take place in the MCU, the character now officially shares a Multiverse with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, as evidenced by Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s end-credits scene. All of this means that Manganiello could easily be brought back for Venom 3 — and he would make for a captivating foil for Eddie Brock.
At the end of the Venom sequel, Eddie and his symbiote are now on the run. Therefore, a third movie could pick up on that thread by having the authorities eventually catch up to the pair and separate the symbiote from its host. The government could then opt to “create” their own Venom by bonding it to a war hero: Flash Thompson. In the comics, Thompson proved himself a hero and a superhero. His time as Venom showcased his skills and his drive, and he became a fan-favorite iteration of the character. And the case could be the same in Venom 3. After all, if there’s one word to describe Brock’s tenure as Venom in both films, it would be “messy.” But Flash Thompson could be a foil for Brock by demonstrating that he is the better Venom.
On his own, Brock would then have to figure things out for himself and learn to become a better host for his symbiote. For the past two films, Brock faced characters who were worse. Venom 3 could change things up by having him go up against not someone bigger, badder, meaner and redder, but simply better. It would make for a different kind of confrontation, and it could help Eddie and Venom grow, both as individuals and as a pair.
Besides, this all could also serve as a springboard for a spinoff character: Agent Anti-Venom, who could continue to operate as a superhero in Sony’s Spider-Man universe. After all, after his all-too-brief stint as the DCEU’s Deathstroke, Manganiello certainly deserves his own superhero franchise.
To see Eddie Brock’s newest adventure, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in theaters now.
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