Upping the goof factor and hopefully the wig budget a couple thousand notches, the trailer for “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” arrived on Monday in all its CGI-heavy glory.
Despite being widely panned by critics, “Venom” gobbled up $850 million at the global box office back in 2018, becoming the biggest October release of all time. And so, a franchise was born with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his symbiotic, flesh-eating alter-ego Venom at the center.
Now, both are back and weirder than ever in the Andy Serkis-directed sequel, which is set to hit theaters Sept. 24, after being shuffled around on Sony’s release calendar over the past year.
This time around, everyone involved seems to be in on the joke with the sequel leaning into the one-man buddy comedy routine that made the original film far funnier than anyone expected ― please enjoy this completely off-the-walls scene of Hardy diving into a lobster tank in case you need a reminder.
While Brock and Venom seem a bit less at odds in the sequel, they’ll have to face off against a new villainous symbiote, Carnage, and its host Cletus Kasady, a red-haired serial killer played by Woody Harrelson, who made his first appearance in the first film’s post-credits scene.
And apparently there are enough symbiotes to go around, as “Moonlight” star Naomie Harris joins the cast as Shriek, a villain from the comic books who is romantically tied to Carnage and will surely tangle with the titular anti-hero.
“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” also stars Michelle Williams (getting her check once again as Brock’s love interest, Anne Weying), Reid Scott and Stephen Graham.
Watch the trailer below.