This was totally unexpected!
Actor-turned-filmmaker Andy Serkis is officially stepping into Venom’s ooze, closing a deal to direct Venom 2, Sony’s sequel to the 2018 film that grossed $856 million at the global box office. The sequel, part of Sony’s Spider-Man-related and Marvel-centric characters, will bring back Tom Hardy as the journalist who joins with an alien symbiote.
Venom 2 will be Serkis’ third directorial effort after the 2017 drama “Breathe” and last year’s non-Disney take on the Rudyard Kipling stories, “Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle,” which ended up being released on Netflix after being made at Warner Bros.
Serkis shared a post on his Instagram account, writing: “It’s actually happening. I can feel it, the Symbiote has found a host in me, and I’m ready for the ride…Can’t wait.”
Serkis rose to fame as Gollum in Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy from 2002 to 2004. He then reteamed with Jackson for the Hobbit trilogy (2012-14). Serkis also played the villain Snoke in the recent Star Wars films, as well as bad guy Klaw in Marvel Studios’ Black Panther.
Ruben Fleischer directed 2018’s Venom, which starred Michelle Williams and featured a last-minute cameo by Woody Harrelson as chief Venom villain Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage.