The trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage dropped yesterday and fans have taken to social media to talk about all of the Easter eggs they have noticed. Fans have seemed to have spotted moments that appear to acknowledge the MCU and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies but director Andy Serkis says the sequel exists in its own universe where the characters aren't aware of Spider-Man.
In the new trailer, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) can be seen reading the Daily Bugle, the newspaper that Peter Parker/Spider-Man works for as a photographer. The logo is similar to the look that the paper had in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies and this has led to some of the speculations that the universes are connected. During a chat with "IGN", Serkis did acknowledge that some of the Easter eggs are meant to pay homage to Marvel and the Spider-Man movies in small ways but Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set in its own universe where the characters have no real awareness of Spider-Man.
"Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man and the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story. We're treating this very much as it's his own world. The Venom story is his own world. There are nods and little moments [like the shot of the newspaper the Daily Bugle], of course, but on the whole he's unaware. They are unaware, at this point, of other characters like Spider-Man. So, that's the way we've chosen to play this particular episode of the movie, but, well, we'll wait and see. We'll see what little things you can pick out of it."
It's worth noting that Serkis stated that Eddie Brock and the other characters in the film are "unaware" of Spider-Man's existence. This suggests that they're either all living under a rock or the web-slinger hasn't hit the scene in the universe that Venom exists in. This brings up the whole notion of alternate cinematic universes and that can sometimes either make fans excited or irritated so I will leave that speculation to the diehards out there. Also, if what Serkis says is true, this might put the nail in the coffin of the idea that the Venom franchise could lead into the MCU. At this point, that doesn't seem to be the plan unless they're hiding a very big secret.
Things get a bit more complicated when you factor in the other Sony Pictures/Marvel hybrid Morbius, starring Jared Leto. In that film's trailer, it was revealed that Michael Keaton had a role in the film which hints that he was reprising his role as Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. That film is connected to the MCU through Tom Holland so if Keaton's Vulture is in Morbius, even as a cameo, does that mean Morbius exists in the MCU but not Venom? Eventually, I'm going to need some kind of flowchart to keep up.
What are YOUR thoughts on how Venom: Let There Carnage, if at all, is connected to the MCU or the older Spider-Man movies? Does it merely exist in its own universe or are they pulling or chains here? Venom: Let There Be Carnage hits screens on September 24, 2021.