‘Venom’ And Its Sequel Could Be Setting Up For Spider-Man To Appear

The first trailer for ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ has been out long enough to speculate, baselessly, on what could come from this movie. Eagle-eyed fans may have noticed a few key details within the trailer that could point towards something big. Obviously, this is all speculation and nothing said here is grounded in fact (or reality). 

Read More: ’Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Trailer Gives Us Our First Look Cletus Kasady

The Daily Bugle and J.J Jr. 

The Daily Bugle and Spider-Man go together like Batman and parental issues. In a blink-and-you miss it moment the only surviving astronauts from the shuttle crash gets identified as Jameson just as he is taken away by EMTs. Fans of the comics may recognize the connection between space travel and the name Jameson. Colonel John Jameson is an all American hero. Yes, he is also the werewolf vigilante known as Man-Wolf but that is besides the point. Moreover, John Jameson also happens to be the son of Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. 

Now, it could be entirely possible that the first Venom film had just put the name drop in as a subtle easter-egg. However, with the release of the ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ trailer, we get the addition of the Daily Bugle publication. The trailer clearly shows Stephen Graham’s character flipping through the pages of the newspaper. 

Perhaps it was never meant for the Jameson that was rescued at the beginning of ‘Venom’ to be J.J’s son. However with the addition of the Daily Bugle in print, it may be safe to say that the two are related. Especially when you take into consideration the addition of Ravencroft Institute.

From here we can begin to connect the dots.

If you are a Spider-Man villain with delusions of grandeur, chances are high that you will end up in Ravencroft. Much in the same way Batman locks up his villains in Arkham, Spider-Man does the same here. The Punisher, Norman Osborn and everyone in between have all, in the past, been locked up in Ravencroft. Coincidentally, John Jameson has also been both a patient and a staff member of Ravencroft. As such, it would not be unlikely for be some sort of cameo from Jameson in the ‘Venom’ sequel. Perhaps his presence in Ravencroft is how Cletus Kasady became a host to Carnage in the first place. 

Now, on to the meat and potatoes of this speculation.

We have the pieces in place; The Daily Bugle, John Jameson, Ravencroft. Let’s begin putting them together. In order to do so, you the reader must cast your mind back to 2014’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ and the last time we saw Ravencroft on the big-screen. If you recall, after his big fight in Times Square with Spider-Man, Electro is sent to Ravencroft Institute. It just so happens that Electro has been confirmed to be returning for the upcoming ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’. Additionally, it is safe to say that the returning Electro and the one from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ are one and the same.

What else do we know about ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’? Well, for starters, it will also be connected to the Sam Rami trilogy based on the Alfred Molina’s return. If you remember back in ‘Spider-Man 2’, Mary Jane is engaged to John Jameson the astronaut. This, coupled with the fact that we have already seen the Venom symbiote in the Rami trilogy means that ‘Venom’ cannot be set within that universe.

We also can safely assume that the Venom films do not exist within the MCU either.

Simply put, there have been far too many world ending events in the MCU for ‘Venom’ to not address. Not to mention, the age difference between Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would be jarring. 

Which leaves us with one final “Spider-verse”, and the only one that ticks ever single box. We have never seen J. Jonah Jameson or his son in either of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ films. However we have seen Ravencroft institution several times. Other than a quick glimpse at something at the end of ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’, there were no symbiotes running around. This had left the door open for them to appear in the now-canceled follow up films. 

With everything in place, I think it is safe to say:

‘Venom’ and its sequel take place in the same universe as ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’

‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ is going to crack the lid open on multiple Spider-Men. With the addition of Electro in that film and the rumors of Andrew Garfield returning to the role of Peter Parker, it is clear that we are not quite finished with ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ franchise. Sony may very well be having their cake and eating it too. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man would continue to exist in the MCU, while Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man moves forward as well. He would get to go up against Venom, Morbius and anyone else Sony throws in his way. 

For one final piece of speculation, and this one is a long shot, this would be the best way to end the ‘Venom’ sequel. In a post credit scene we see Eddie Brock discussing the events that transpired with someone off screen. As the scene comes to an end it is revealed that Brock has been talking to Spider-Man. As the conversation ends a portal opens up and Spider-Man is sucked into it and sent to the MCU for ‘No Way Home’. Even the release dates line up, ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is released in September of this year, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ will come out three months later in December.