After over half a year of silence, Sony is close to choosing its director for the upcoming ‘Venom’ sequel. Andy Serkis is one of several filmmakers in the mix to direct the film. He even flew to Los Angeles for meetings with Sony executives earlier this week.
Serkis has been breaking out into the directing world as of late, with 2017’s ‘Breathe’ and the Jungle Book adaptation ‘Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.’ He is also working on another book adaptation to direct: ‘Animal Farm’ for Netflix. He is popular for his motion-capture performances, like in Peter Jackson’s ‘King Kong’ and Rian Johnson’s ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ as well as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Planet of the Apes’ franchises.
The previous film’s director Ruben Fleischer (‘Zombieland,’ ‘Santa Clarita Diet’) will not be returning to helm this sequel.
Meanwhile, Tom Hardy (‘The Revenant,’ ‘Dunkirk’) will reprise his roles of both Eddie Brock and the titular character Venom. Michelle Williams (‘Manchester by the Sea,’ ‘Fosse/Verdon’) and Woody Harrelson (‘True Detective,’ ‘The Highwaymen’) are both expected to come back as well, for Anne Weying and Cletus Kasady/Carnage respectively.
Moreover, the screenplay is from returning screenwriter Kelly Marcel (‘Saving Mr. Banks,’ ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’).
Further, filming is aiming to begin this November. It is unclear where they will shoot the film this time around.
While a release date has not been formally set, ‘Venom 2’ will likely release on October 2, 2020.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter