It’s the Booze Talkin’; An R-Rated Venom 2 would be a tasty treat!

It’s a good month to be a fan of Tom Hardy. In the past few days, there’s been word from George Miller that he’s not finished with MAD MAX and I couldn’t be happier. While we’re nowhere near hearing any casting news or anything else, as the project isn’t happening terribly quickly, it’s a safe bet that Hardy would return to play Max Rockatansky for the sequel. And then we have the upcoming sequel to VENOM slithering its way into production. The film offers the return of both Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Michelle Williams as Anne Weying. Additionally, the new sequel will be featuring Stephen Graham, Naomie Harris and Woody Harrelson – who you all certainly remember from the end credit scene. Having started filming only a few days ago, there is already a lot of push for news after the unexpectedly massive financial success of the original.

Now I know that VENOM didn’t work for a number of critics and fans, but for this viewer, I loved the monster movie/superhero mashup. I appreciated what Ruben Fleischer did in terms of making a very funny creature feature. And most importantly, I loved what Tom Hardy brought to the mania that came with Venom taking over Eddie. While certainly not perfect, it was a fun ride that I’ve watched a few times and still find entertainment in. And frankly, I liked that they kept it separate from SPIDER-MAN for the moment. Considering the last time we saw this character in a Spider-Man flick, I’m glad they chose to wait and see how Eddie Brock came to be on his own. While many were disappointed in the promise of what VENOM should or could be, I’m just glad that it was as successful as it was so we can continue the journey. And with Andy Serkis taking over directorial duties, my enthusiasm for the upcoming film has certainly risen.

One complaint that came with the first film is the fact that they turned what could have been an uber-violent monster pic into a PG-13 adventure. This really never bothered me personally, but it did a number of fans who wanted a darker and more brutal take on the character. In fact, I had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Fleischer on that particular subject when the film originally came out, and this is what he had to say about it:

I was not surprised just because there was just so much talk prior to the announcement of the rating that it better be R, so we only ever considered it as a PG-13 movie. We never thought about anything more than that, but THE DARK KNIGHT was always my reference. Where you can make a super badass hardcore film and push the envelope in terms of the violence and the intensity, but still make it available to fans of all ages.”

Perhaps, even after VENOM's impressive debut, the tide is changing. With the recent and massive success of JOKER, perhaps studios are having a change of heart. We recently reported that the film’s producer, Matt Tolmach, told Cinema Blend that they're thinking about going with an R-rating for the new sequel. And frankly, that makes a whole lot of sense. As well, if you read what Tomach has to say – you can check out our story here –  he’s playing the game quite smart. After all, even with the complaints about the rating, VENOM was a much bigger success story than they had anticipated. And it was PG-13. So he’s in a good position of spreading the news that it COULD be R, but it clearly didn’t hurt the film the first time around. So is it really a necessity? Maybe not, but my oh my the idea is a sweet one.

Even as a fan of the first film and what Ruben did with the humor and horror, the idea of Andy Serkis taking on an R-rated VENOM flick is damn exciting. Already an amazing actor, directorial wise Serkis did an impressive job of turning THE JUNGLE BOOK into the surprisingly dark and unsettling MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE. You could argue that that unique take on a character popularized by Walt Disney was still PG-13, yet if he can go that route with what is essentially a children’s story, imagine what he can do with a full-fledged monster flick like VENOM. The opportunities he would have not only with the creature effects, but also the fact that VENOM loves to bite off human heads! This could certainly be a blast of bloody fun times.

Maybe it’s the booze talkin’, but an R-Rated VENOM 2 would be a tasty treat! As a fan of the original film, I’m more than curious to see the dark and humorous path that Serkis could take by bringing us more carnage – the character played by Harrelson and the actual noun. And come on, in the past few years we’ve had huge successes with R-rated superhero excursions like LOGAN, the DEADPOOL movies, and of course this year’s JOKER. From the looks of it, they are simply testing the waters by commenting on the fact that they MIGHT go for an R-rating. But it’s also a safe bet that this would make more than a few fans really f*cking happy. What do you all think? Should they stick to the original formula, or do you want a brand new, hard R superhero flick to salivate over?