It’s official. Andy Serkis is set to direct Tom Hardy in Venom 2.
In a statement, Serkis said:
“It’s a fantastic franchise and I’m honored to be asked to direct it. It feels like a very contemporary story, and I think, hopefully, that it’s going to be an extraordinary piece of cinema.”
He went on to tease the upcoming sequel, currently being written by Kelly Marcel, and getting to work with Tom Hardy:
“I can’t tell you any ideas right now, I’m in the beginning stages, but I have some very clear ideas about what I want to see visually, and how we can take the characters to another dimension.
I’ve known Tom for years, and admired him as an actor and a producer. And we’ve wanted to work together for years.”
Are you excited to see what Serkis can do with Venom?
The original story from August 1 is below.
Somehow Venom made a boatload of money last year, and a sequel is on the way. Ruben Fleischer, who directed the first film, is too busy with post-production on Zombieland 2 to return for the sequel, so Sony has currently backed up a dumptruck full of cash to three directors houses: Andy Serkis, Travis Knight, and Rupert Wyatt.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Serkis flew to Los Angeles for meetings with Sony to direct the feature. While Serkis has built his career on motion capture performances, he has slowly been dipping his toes into directing, helming second units for The Hobbit trilogy and directing the Rudyard Kipling-inspired Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle for Netflix.
Travis Knight (Bumblebee) and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) are also in contention, but, although Variety claims “no one has moved into a front-runner position,” it is clear Serkis is the favorite. In a since deleted post, Venom lead Tom Hardy posted a picture of Serkis on his Instagram. Did he let the Gollum out of the bag too soon?
Shooting on Venom 2 is aiming to begin in November 2019. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on October 2, 2020.
