Earlier this month, the trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage finally hit the internet. As expected, Woody Harrelson’s take on Cletus Kasady was prominently shown, making good of his cameo tease from the first Venom’s end credits tease.
But as excited as fans may be, there’s some concern about the upcoming sequel. While some can’t wait for to see Carnage go on a rampage, others are worried that Carnage’s cinematic introduction was too fast. Time will tell which side of the argument wins out in the end.
10 TOO EARLY: Carnage Needs An R-Rating
The most obvious reason why the Venom movies needed to take their time with Carnage’s arrival is because he needs an R-rating. Let There Be Carnage is currently unrated but a PG-grade is highly likely. Despite or because of its lack of gore, the PG-13 Venom earned upwards of $800 million worldwide. It wouldn’t be surprising if the sequel stuck to this lucrative formula.
Whether they’re fused together or not, Carnage and Cletus are two of the most violent and psychotic villains ever seen in mainstream comics. It would benefit the campy Venom to let the two get as sadistic as possible but so far, the trailer hints that Let There Be Carnage will be more oddball buddy-comedy than Symbiote bloodbath.
9 RIGHT ON TIME: Carnage Is A Fan-Favorite Symbiote
The simple truth is that regardless of its rating or quality, longtime Marvel readers will flock to Let There Be Carnage because of Carnage. The blood-red Symbiote is easily the most famous and beloved Symbiote that isn’t Venom, and there’s no better time than the ongoing superhero movie boom to finally bring him to the big screen.
Carnage first appeared in 1991, right at the start of comic book’s edgy phase in the ‘90s and he hasn’t gone anywhere since then. For both good and bad, Carnage is one of the best embodiments of ‘90s supervillain ideas and tropes. Seeing him brought to life in a theater will be more than enough for his dedicated fanbase.
8 TOO EARLY: It’s Going To Be Another Symbiote Vs. Symbiote Fight
Venom ended with the titular Symbiote going up against Riot, the Symbiote that fused with Life Foundation CEO Carlton Drake. The fight was a mess, featuring two giant blobs of alien goop slapping and slashing each other atop a rocket. Unfortunately, Let There Be Carnage will probably end the same way because Carnage is a Symbiote.
Even ignoring the inevitable Symbiote versus Symbiote finale, Symbiotes aren’t Venom’s only enemies. Over the years, he fought against other Spider-Man foes and his own enemies, like The Jury or Jack O’ Lantern. Venom 2 could’ve spiced up Venom’s cinematic formula with a new enemy type but, instead, recycled its predecessor’s setup.
7 RIGHT ON TIME: The Symbiotes’ Lore Needs Expanding
Even if Venom first saw life as Spider-Man’s alternate black costume in Secret Wars, there was obviously more to him. In the decades after Peter ripped him from his skin, Venom’s backstory and origins were explored, much to fans’ delight. Not only did Venom evolve from villain to anti-hero, but his history and role in the Marvel world expanded as well.
This was most recently revealed in the highly praised events Absolute Carnage and King In Black, where Venom and the Symbiotes went from a well-known alien race to eldritch cosmic force under Knull’s control (above). The Symbiotes’ off-world origins were already confirmed in Venom, and Let There Be Carnage can build on what was established.
6 TOO EARLY: Carnage Should Be A Venom Movie’s Only Other Symbiote
Even if Carnage is the only named newcomer in the title, Let There Be Carnage will obviously not stop at introducing just one Symbiote. Shriek has been confirmed to appear, and Detective Patrick Mulligan’s presence all but confirms Toxin’s arrival as well. It wouldn’t be surprising if more Symbiotes are being kept under wraps to maintain their surprise.
That said, adding more Symbiotes would be a disservice to both Carnage and Venom. Venom’s blood feud with Carnage is one of the most important tenets of his comics; putting it in a movie only to be overshadowed by other Symbiotes’ debuts unfairly robs it of the spotlight. Carnage’s arrival deserves an entire movie, not roughly half of it.
5 RIGHT ON TIME: Carnage Is A More Credible Villain Than Riot
One of Venom’s major flaws was its boring supervillain. Most of the movie is dedicated to Eddie Brock and Venom trying to get along, while their plan to stop Riot from bringing more Symbiotes to Earth felt perfunctory. Not helping was that Riot’s host Carlton – a generic evil businessman – was indistinguishable from any rich bad guy from any disposable action movie.
Carnage and Cletus, meanwhile, are infinitely more interesting and threatening. They have no pretenses or PR concerns, instead they relish in the violence and suffering they cause. Even better, they have a personal paternal vendetta against Venom/Eddie. Stopping Carnage/Cletus makes for better entertainment than exposing Riot/Carlton for unethical business practices.
4 TOO EARLY: Eddie’s Rivalry With Cletus Needs Time To Grow
In the comics, Cletus and Eddie were cellmates, and Venom inadvertently gave birth to Carnage when he helped Eddie escaped. The abandoned Symbiote fused with a nearby Cletus, and their shared anger, envy, and hatred towards Venom/Eddie made them one of the deadliest Symbiotes and Marvel villains to ever wreak havoc.
This kind of rivalry and hatred needs a whole movie to develop and justify, which is something that the possibly crowded Let There Be Carnage may fall short of. Aside from the other Symbiotes’ entrances and necessary world-building, Carnage will have to share what little runtime is left with the sequel’s promised emphasis on Venom and Eddie’s weird relationship.
3 RIGHT ON TIME: Eddie & Venom Deserve A Nemesis
As the old aphorism goes, a superhero is nothing without a good archenemy. In Venom/Eddie’s case, being an anti-hero is pointless if they don’t have an evil foil to go up against. Obviously, this is where Carnage/Cletus fit best since they’re the dark and murderous Symbiote/host tandem that Venom and Eddie could’ve become.
This was arguably done already with Riot/Carlton, but the first movie focused more on Venom and Eddie’s growing friendship than fighting an evil mirror reflection. In contrast, this seems to be Let There Be Carnage’s entire point since Carnage and Cletus were explicitly written to be Venom and Eddie’s worst tendencies made real.
2 TOO EARLY: The Venom Movies Are Not Yet MCU Canon
Right now, Venom, its sequel, and the other Sony Marvel villain movies are in a weird spot. They’re acknowledged as Marvel properties, but they’re not yet a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because of this, key parts of Carnage’s story may have to be changed similar to Venom’s lack of Spider-Man in his movie origins, or they’re outright legally forbidden.
Originally, Carnage’s body count forced Spider-Man to team up with Venom. Later, Carnage moved to hosts like Ben Reilly and Norman Osborn, both of who presumably can’t appear in Sony’s movies yet. Most of Carnage’s stories like Absolute Carnage are tied to MCU-exclusive characters and concepts; debuting him now while he’s currently not part of the MCU is a bad rushed idea.
1 RIGHT ON TIME: Woody Harrelson As Cletus Kasady Will Be Fun
On one hand, Cletus is one of the most unhinged comic book villains ever created, and this is made worse when he’s in Carnage mode. On the other, Woody Harrelson is one of the most versatile character actors working in the business today. Long story short, Harrelson’s casting as Cletus is practically a match made in heaven.
Harrelson made a career playing eccentric anti-heroes and downright psychopaths, as seen in Zombieland and Natural Born Killers, respectively. Let There Be Carnage will be his first major superhero movie, and it’s fitting that he gets to play the serial killing Cletus Kasady in it. Seeing how he’ll make a killing with the iconic villain will be nothing short of a blast.
About The Author