Venom’s end-credits scene introduced Woody Harrelson’s Cleytus Kasady aka Carnage. This buzzed many fans, exciting them for the sequel to Venom. However, a new report suggests that Venom 2 will not be an R-rated film, even if it has Carnage in it!
This was revealed by Venom’s producers Matt Tomlach and Avi Arad during a recent interview about the future of Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC) and Venom.
“You know what? When you hear Venom…forget Venom. When you hear, Carnage, the only thing you can think of is R. But, if you know his story, if you really know the comic, there’s no R here.” Avi Arad told Collider. “He’s a tortured soul. It’s not about what he does, because we never have to show the knife going from here to there, and the blood is pouring. What you have to show is, what is the motivation? Was he born like that, or it’s someone we should feel for because if you are succeeding to make a villain someone you can feel for, jackpot.”
For those unfamiliar, Carnage is the symbiote that bonds itself with a serial killer named Cleytus Kasady, (played by Harrelson in the film), thereafter becoming a dangerous enemy to both, Venom and Spider-Man. Carnage was introduced in 1991, and its popularity thrilled many fans to see the character in live-action.
Many fans even comment that Venom’s sequel should be titled, Venom: Maximum Carnage, drawing its roots from the famous 1990’s event. The series sees Carnage escaping into New York, murdering anyone who comes in the way. This follows an epic team-up between Venom, Spider-Man, Morbius, Nightwatch and Black Cat to stop Carnage from killing more people.
Now, as Sony is looking forward to expanding their universe of Marvel Characters by bringing in Morbius, The Living Vampire (played by Jared Leto) and Black Cat, Venom’s sequel could serve as the biggest crossover that may establish Sony’s shared universe of Marvel Characters. This will also give Sony an opportunity to make good money and they won’t even need an R-rating for that.
Many fans imagine Carnage as something scarier than horror films. For that, one needs to know that there have been films that are scary under the PG-13 restriction. For example, Lights Out and Annabelle: Recreation by director David F. Sanders have always walked close to the PG-13 line.
Avid further points out that Marvel has to tell Carnage stories without pushing the PG-13 boundaries too far. We already have a taste of Carnage through Harrelson’s character and can’t wait anymore for the sequel. Fingers crossed.
Venom is out now in theaters.
