Here’s Why Venom Is Part of the MCU (Explained)

Tom Hardy’s Venom quickly became a fan-favorite character in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe despite the second movie – ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ – not having the best reviews. Still, it allowed Eddie Brock and Venom to join the MCU in its post-credit scene, but it was seemingly revoked in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ So, is Venom still a part of the MCU?

While Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock was brought back to his original universe in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’s’ post-credits scene, a tiny sliver of the Venom symbiote got left behind. So, despite Hardy’s Eddie Brock being back in his own universe, Venom could still appear in the MCU again.

It all sounds so straightforward when you put it like that, but it gets a bit more complicated once you dive into the subject. There’s the hive mind of the symbiotes that Venom mentioned in ‘Let There Be Carnage’ that could play a major role in the future. How about an MCU Eddie Brock variant coming into the picture? Let’s dissect every possibility, one by one.

Which universe is Venom in?

First of all, let’s clear the air about Venom and his place in Marvel universes. There’s a clear distinction between the Venom movies and the Venom symbiotes.

Venom movies are completely and undoubtedly set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe or the SSU. It had nothing to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe or the MCU until the possibilities of the multiverse opened up the two separate universes to one another.

However, this post-credits scene in ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is where Eddie Brock and Venom actually end up in the MCU. Their hotel room changes, and the TV shows Tom Holland’s Spider-Man being outed by the Daily Bugle. They have no idea what happened, but we soon learn through an MCU movie.

Everyone thought that Venom would now become an integral part of the MCU – and there were plans for him to have a bigger role in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home,’ according to the movie’s writer, Chris McKenna – but in the end, Eddie Brock’s MCU tenure has dwindled down to just another post-credits scene.

In ‘No Way Home,’ we saw Eddie sitting in a bar, talking to the bartender, trying to figure out everything about this new universe full of super-people, like a guy in a flying metal suit and the big green guy whose name was even lamer than Lethal Protector – at least according the Venom.

But then, all of a sudden, as Doctor Strange’s spell was completed and everyone was brought back to their original universes, so were Eddie and Venom. Well, almost the entire Venom, apart from a little sliver of the symbiote getting left behind, opens the opportunity for us to have Venom appear in the MCU again.

So, in short, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Venom are from the SSU. They were both briefly in the MCU but were then returned to the SSU. The only thing is, a tiny bit of the symbiote is still in the MCU, so I guess we can say he is, indeed, a part of the MCU as well. It’ll open up a bunch of possibilities in the future, which we’ll get into in a moment.

Why were Eddie Brock and Venom brought to the MCU?

Now, I feel like this needs to be addressed because I saw and heard many people asking how – or why – Eddie and Venom were brought to the MCU in the first place. In ‘Let There Be Carnage,’ we see that neither Eddie nor Venom knows what happened and why they were brought to another universe.

They were brought there due to Doctor Strange’s botched spell – something we learned in ‘No Way Home.’ But, we never saw Eddie and Venom meet Peter Parker in the SSU, and the only people who were brought to the MCU from other universes were people who knew who Peter Parker was. So, if they haven’t met Pete, why were they brought there, too?

The answer lies in what Venom was saying to Eddie before they were brought to the MCU. As he said, the symbiotes share a hive mind or hive knowledge. Through thousands of years, and countless different universes, everything that the Symbiotes experience or learn becomes a part of their collective hive mind.

That means if any Symbiote or any variant of the Symbiote from any universe ever found out who Peter Parker was – then all Symbiotes would know that information through their collective hive knowledge. And we already know that one version of Peter Parker (we’re looking at you, Mr. Tobey Maguire) already had an encounter with Venom.

That’s why Venom recognized Peter on the screen immediately despite never actually meeting SSU’s Parker, and that’s why Eddie and Venom were brought to the MCU as a result of Doctor Strange’s spell.

Where does Venom fit in the MCU timeline?

Obviously, Venom (the first movie) happened in a separate universe before ‘Let There Be Carnage’ – which was the first time we saw any connection between SSU’s Venom and the MCU. So, where does that fit in the MCU?

Well, as we already mentioned, the reason why Venom and Eddie were brought to the MCU in the first place was Doctor Strange’s botched spell. Meaning, ‘Let There Be Carnage’ happened in the SSU right before ‘No Way Home’ took place in the MCU, with Venom 2’s ending coinciding with the moment when Strange messed up the spell in the MCU.

Where the little sliver of the Symbiote went after ‘No Way Home’ remains to be seen, as we haven’t heard or seen anything from Venom since. Perhaps we’ll get the answers in SSU’s ‘Venom 3,’ or we might just see him again in the MCU. After all, there’s a lot of wiggle room for the fan-favorite Symbiote to reappear.

Could SSU’s Venom and MCU’s Spider-Man still meet face-to-face?

Seeing that Tom Holland’s MCU Spider-Man and Tom Hardy’s SSU Venom are both fan-favorite characters in their respective universes – and that those universes have crossed paths for a moment – fans are still hoping we could see the two face off at some point – or even team up. Is that possible, though? Could it actually happen?

Absolutely. The question is not if it could happen, but rather, if it does happen, where and how?

Well, first of all, the piece of Venom remained in the MCU. We know that Spidey will return to the MCU for another movie (or possibly more), so perhaps our SSU Venom will be alerted when MCU Peter Parker comes into contact with that little piece of him, though the hive mind we’ve mentioned a couple of times already.

That little piece of Venom could maybe try to find the MCU variant of Eddie Brock to use him as a host or explain to him what happened. That’s another way we could see Tom and Tom meet in a Marvel film – maybe it won’t be the same Eddie Brock, but another variant? 

They don’t necessarily have to fight each other – maybe they’ll team up? After all, the SUU Venom is more of an anti-hero than a villain.

What about the SSU? We still haven’t seen Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man, from that universe. Perhaps it’s time for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe to finally get their Spider-Man. Who knows? Maybe it’s a variant also portrayed by Tom Holland?

I could go on with these speculations forever, but the point is – don’t lose hope, folks. There are so many options to get to that point, and actually seeing Spider-Man and Venom face off, either in the MCU or the SSU, and either as partners or enemies.

When is Venom 3 coming out?

There is still no official date for Venom 3’s release, and I doubt we’ll get one soon. The projected arrival was expected to be somewhere in October 2024, but seeing that the production was delayed and that the industry-wide strikes are still taking place, it’s hard to determine when the movie will actually come out.

Whenever it does, I will be among the first crowds to watch it because I loved Hardy as Eddie Brock and the chemistry between him and his Lethal Protector. The Spidey possibilities are merely icing on the cake, making fans more eager to see the film.

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