In the comics, when Spider-Man was abducted by The Beyonder and left stranded on Battleworld, the wall-crawler discovered a machine he believed could repair his tattered suit. Instead, it left Peter Parker wearing an alien costume that would eventually be revealed as a Symbiote attempting to bond with him.
The hero eventually rid himself of his living costume, and it would later find a new host in Eddie Brock. As Venom, he became one of Spider-Man's greatest enemies, and fans have long waited to see them square off on screen.
That happened in 2007's Spider-Man 3, though Sam Raimi's truncated take on the story didn't sit well with most fans. Since then, Sony Pictures has put its own spin on Venom, with a trilogy that established Eddie as a Lethal Protector who had absolutely no history with Spidey.
Rumours have swirled for a while about the Symbiote factoring into the next Spider-Man trilogy—which begins with this July's Spider-Man: Brand New Day—and now insider Daniel Richtman has chimed in.
Richtman is reporting that he's also heard Marvel Studios "wants [its] own take on the Symbiote for this new trilogy." This seemingly confirms that we won't be getting Tom Hardy back as an Eddie Brock Variant, and with Mac Gargan back in play, he seems a far more likely candidate to serve as Venom's other, which would obviously follow the comics.
Presumably, Peter will acquire his alien suit in Avengers: Secret Wars, bringing it back to Earth in time for Spider-Man 5. While Spider-Man: No Way Home ended with Eddie leaving a piece of the Symbiote behind on Earth-616, Venom: The Last Dance retconned that. Well, sort of (it didn't make much sense, if we're being honest).
"We got close. We got as close as I could possibly imagine getting, apart from doing a film together, which I would have loved to have done because that just means so much fun," Hardy previously said of the Spider-Man crossover that wasn't. "Fundamentally, for me, it would be for the kids."
"Because, you know, as much as adults love superhero films, as you can tell by the box office when they’re successful, I think I’m constantly reminded by children how important these characters are," the actor continued. "And they don’t know why their favorite characters aren’t in films together."
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings helmer Destin Daniel Cretton directs Spider-Man: Brand New Day from a script by returning Spider-Man franchise writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers.
Tom Holland plays Spider-Man in a cast that also includes Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), Mark Ruffalo (The Hulk), Zendaya (MJ), Sadie Sink, Michael Mando (The Scorpion), Tramell Tillman, Marvin Jones III (Tombstone), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), and Liza Colón-Zayas. Avengers: Doomsday star Florence Pugh is expected to reprise her Thunderbolts* role as Yelena Belova.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be released in theaters on July 31, 2026.