Is Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage going to be delayed again?
Sony has already delayed the upcoming Venom sequel three times. The film, which stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom, was initially set to premiere in June. In light of the recent surge in cases caused by the COVID-19 Delta variant, Sony decided to push its release date back to September 17 and then September 24 before finally settling with October 15. If the fresh rumored delays are true, then Venom 2 would be delayed for the fourth time to January 2022. This is currently when the oft-delayed Jared Leto movie, Morbius, is scheduled to premiere. Vulture reports that several insiders have revealed the highly-anticipated Venom sequel will not premiere this 2021, adding that this shouldn’t come off as a big surprise. As we’ve already mentioned, the COVID-19 pandemic gained a second wind after new strains started appearing in recent months. This has forced governments to rethink their strategies and go back to implementing lockdowns, amongst others actions. Just bear in mind that Sony has not confirmed the delay yet. With that said, Vulture did clarify that Sony is waiting for the CinemaCon exhibition to end to make the big announcement. This makes a lot of sense, especially as the latest trailer for the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, just dropped. If the premiere date change is true, one can’t help but wonder how much Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney may have played a part of it. The former MCU star is currently in the midst of a legal battle against her former employer, claiming that Disney’s decision to release Black Widow via both Disney+ Premiere Access and theaters was a violation of her contract. Another potential factor could be the lower than expected box office returns of the DCEU’s The Suicide Squad. Despite the love that the film received from critics, James Gunn’s take on the ragtag team of supervillains did not perform well in theaters. Then again, it is worth noting that Free Guy, another oft-delayed film that was released right around the same time as The Suicide Squad, performed very well and is already up for a sequel. Perhaps it is this inconsistency in the performance of movies at the box office that is making studio executives think twice about releasing new films during these uncertain times. Ultimately, the delay doesn’t bode well for a third Venom film. We can’t exactly blame fans for losing interest in a film that’s always delayed. Although since it’s positioned for a January 22 premiere (again, if rumors are true), Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage might just benefit from relatively weaker competition during its theater run.
