Give a round of applause to Sony for ending the Venom trilogy the way they did because that was impressive. While it wasn’t perfect, Sony proved they could finish the only other franchise they have beyond the Spiderverse. Fans were taken back to the chaotic relationship they all fell in love with 6 years ago and were given a sad but satisfying ending to the story.

Knull, Prison and the Codex

The entire plot is driven by the story of Knull, which was told by both Knull himself at the start of the movie and by Venom when explaining it to Eddie. The symbiotes, Knull’s children, turned on him and imprisoned him because they recognized his evil. As explained, the only way to free Knull would be with a Codex, which we learn is only possible when a symbiote saves their host from dying, which we are reminded happened to Eddie in the first movie. The Codex, or key to Knull’s prison, was then activated and is what drove the plot of this movie, as Knull sends his monsters to try and get the Codex. For driving plots, it was a pretty solid story, doing it through a mega callback that many fans likely forgot happened in a movie that came out 6 years ago. It also helped to solidify why Eddie and Venom were the duo being hunted and none of the other symbiotes, putting an emphasis on the relationship between the two of them over the past year.

Yet beyond this movie, what all of this really means is that we have some important information and narrative that should translate into the next Spider-Man movie. It was rumored before Venom 3 released that Knull could be the main villain in Spider-Man 4 and with his end credit making it clear he isn’t done, this seems evermore possible. With the new knowledge of the Codex and how Knull needs to escape his prison, it does raise the question of who could create the next Codex to get him to do that. It’s unlikely it will be Spider-Man, or we will have the exact same plot as we did during this movie. The higher probability is that Dr. Payne and the symbiote she has bonded with at the end of the movie could create another Codex, whether on or off screen, releasing Knull for him to hunt down all the symbiotes. With a piece of Venom in 616 and likely to make its way to Spider-Man, it would explain why he comes then to his doorstep.

Saying Goodbye to Eddie and Venom, For Now

This movie was always set up to be the swan song between Eddie and Venom and the final goodbye. The end of a trilogy, Venom had always been an interesting choice for an anti-hero movie but it always worked, even if the movie itself was weak (we’re looking at you Venom 2). All the promo for the movie let the audience know from the very start that this was going to be, well, the last dance, and in an unexpected way it was. Venom saved Eddie while sacrificing himself, knowing that they couldn’t remain together for the good of all worlds. Since Venom saved Eddie’s life already way back in the first movie, there is a strong chance that Venom has known for quite a while that a Codex was created and was probably just enjoying his time with Eddie before the end would come. His sacrifice for him makes sense for this universe, but the door to Venom, Eddie, and the rest of their world remains shockingly open at the end of the movie.

As mentioned before, Dr. Payne has her own symbiote that she now has bonded to, meaning even without Eddie and Venom, she could fill their shoes if Sony wants to continue the franchise. Her symbiote does have comic book precedence, named Agony, so there are stories to build off of if they would want to. Yet, she isn’t the only door they left open. The final end credit of the movie depicted what we are to assume is a piece of Venom that survived the final battle, which will likely be latching onto the bartender or someone else who comes close to the area. The ending of the movie left Eddie in New York City, finally, although whether or not a Spider-Man exists there or not has not been confirmed. Theoretically, the opportunity to unite Eddie and Venom if needed is there and Tom Hardy has made it clear he will return to the role if he gets to fight Spider-Man. For that to happen, Sony could include him in the weird attempt at a Sinister Six they seemingly were trying to make with the Morbius end-credit scene or he could be Venom for another Spider-Man, like Andrew. Neither will truly make sense, making the safest bet to keep him secluded in his universe.

The Other Symbiotes

While Agony was mentioned already, there were quite a few symbiotes that made an appearance during the final fight scene. Starting with Detective Mulligan, it is revealed that what many thought to be the Toxin symbiote that bonds with him at the end of Venom 2 actually abandoned him as he was dying. Now that we know everything we know about the Codex, it’s possible Toxin could have abandoned him due to the fear of creating the Codex themselves. It appears that while we have seen not all symbiotes are good, nor are the people they join with, it’s fairly understood among them to not let Knull out of his prison. The symbiote that is then bonded with him for this movie is never named fully.

The remaining question here is: where is Toxin? Toxin spawned from Carnage in the second movie and is supposed to be one of the most feared symbiotes out there, including by Carnage and Venom. If that holds true, it makes sense why they wanted him off the board for this movie’s storyline, as it seems a little strange to have such a threat in existence while also trying to bring Knull into the story. Either way, it doesn’t take away from the fact Toxin was said to have abandoned Mulligan but it was never confirmed what happened to the symbiote, meaning there is a large chance he remains alive and possibly already within a new host. It’s unclear the future of this franchise, but Toxin would be available for another movie if Sony would choose to do it somewhere down the line.

Moving onto the other symbiotes, Sadie’s symbiote, aka Christmas tree scientist, is what many believe is the movie’s take on Lasher. Some of the others that are rumored to have been versions of comic book symbiote characters within the movie include Scream, Phage, Riot, and Hybrid. As mentioned, these are all likely just references to these symbiotes, as research into the backstory of nearly all of them will show that their stories are very, very different than the ones shown on the big screen. All of them also died in the battle against Knull’s monsters, a reminder that even if they were going to try some of these more prominent symbiotes in the future if these were them, Sony had already shut it down. Agony and a piece of Venom appear to be the lone two survivors.

Image: “Venom: The Last Dance”, Tsing Mui, The FPS Review