A third film in the Marvel Comics-inspired Venom franchise started filming back in June, and Sony Pictures is aiming to get Venom 3 into theatres sometime in October of 2024. Which may or may not be possible, depending on how long the Screen Actors Guild strike lasts. While we wait to see how that’s going to work out, it looks like trustworthy scooper Daniel Richtman has revealed the identity of the villainous character that’s being played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) – and no, it’s not his Doctor Strange character Baron Mordo, since the Venom films are set in a different universe than the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
If you don’t want to know who Ejiofor is playing in Venom 3, beware SPOILERS below.
According to Richtman (as reported by ComicBookMovie), Ejiofor is playing Orwell Taylor, the leader of the group known as The Jury. As CBM notes, “that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark’s designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it’s not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom.” Members of The Jury in the comic book source material include Sentry, Bomblast, Firearm, Ramshot, Wysper, and Screech. It’s not known which of those characters might make it into the movie.
Tom Hardy is reprising the role of Eddie Brock / Venom for this sequel, and he and Ejiofor are being joined in the cast by Juno Temple (Ted Lasso).
The first Venom was scripted by Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel. Ruben Fleischer directed that film, which made $856 million. But then Fleischer turned his focus to making Zombieland: Double Tap and Uncharted – so Andy Serkis took over as director on Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Which was written by Kelly Marcel, working from a story she crafted with Hardy. That sequel earned $506 million at the pandemic era global box office. Serkis said he would be glad to return to the helm for a follow-up – but when Venom 3 actually did come up, he opted to focus on other projects instead. So Venom 3 will be Marcel’s feature directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay, based on a story she crafted with Hardy.
Details on the plot of Venom 3 have not yet been revealed. Marcel and Hardy are producing the film alongside Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker.
What do you think of the idea of Venom taking on Orwell Taylor and members of The Jury in Venom 3? Let us know by leaving a comment below.