Tom Hardy's 'Venom' franchise gets title, set to hit theatres in October

Director Kelly Marcel's 'Venom: The Last Dance' hits theaters on October 25, Sony announced Tuesday. Starring Hardy, Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor, the film had been untitled and moves up two weeks from its previous release date of November 8.

Tom Hardy is back as the Marvel character in Kelly Marcel's third film in the Sony franchise.

In addition to directing the film, Marcel wrote the script, which was co-written with Hardy. Hardy, Marcel, Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker serve as producers. Hardy reprises his role as the Marvel adversary introduced in Ruben Fleischer's 2018 film 'Venom'. Andy Serkis takes up directorial responsibilities for the 2021 sequel 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'. Marcel is making her directing debut after scripting for two previous films.

As per The Hollywood Reporter, this will now be the third Venom film to hit theatres in October, and the pre-Halloween space has worked out nicely for the franchise. The first movie surpassed 850 million US dollars globally, while the sequel crossed the 500 million dollars mark worldwide.

Hardy went to Instagram in November to announce that the film, touted as the series' last instalment, has begun production following a hiatus due to last year's actor strike. The project was originally scheduled for release in June 2024, but due to the labour slowdown, it was pushed to November.

In his November post, Hardy referred to the film as the "last dance" and added that the work "doesn't feel as hard when you love what you do and when you know you have great material and the support at all sides, of a great team." 'Venom: The Last Dance' is the latest title in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. It follows Sony's release of Madame Web, which stars Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney and has underperformed since hitting theatres last month, according to The Hollywood Reporter. (ANI)