TRAILER TALK

Team Empire says, “Let there be Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” And lo, there was Let There Be Carnage.

John Nugent (News Editor): First trailer for the Venom sequel, then. Any fans of the original? No judgement here. This is a safe space.

James Dyer (Digital Editor-in-chief ): Absolutely not.

Aliyah Allen (Designer): I quite liked it.

Mike Cathro (Deputy Art Director):

I love Marvel and Spider-man, and I grew up with the ’90s Venom cartoon. But I thought the first film was trash.

Aliyah: It was an easy watch. It’s funny.

John: So here’s Venom making breakfast for Eddie Brock. As you do.

Chris Lupton (Creative Director): Does Tom Hardy do the voice of Venom?

James: Yep. It’s like Cookie Monster channelled through Louis Armstrong.

Chris Lupton: That breakfast would not win any awards. I wonder who would win in a waffle-off — Venom or Mary Berry?

John: “KETCHUP!” I guess they’re trying to humanise Venom here then.

Chris Hewitt (Re.view Editor): He’s just a lovable rogue! He’s acclimatising to human life. He and Eddie are like the Odd Couple.

John: I find it very strange that this shopkeeper is saying “Good evening, Venom!” Like, Venom’s just a part of the neighbourhood now?

James: So it seems.

Chris Hewitt: The last movie ended here, didn’t it — with Venom eating that robber in the shop.

James: “Like a turd in the wind...”

Chris: Yes. Before saying, “We are Venom.” So clearly the word is out that Eddie Brock and Venom are one and the same.

John: Hey, look — it’s Stephen Graham!

Chris Hewitt: He plays a cop, and is presumably involved somehow in putting Cletus Kasady, Woody Harrelson’s character, behind bars. Interesting he’s reading the Daily Bugle there.

John: The Daily Bugle logo is apparently the same one as is used in the Sam Raimi Spider-man films, according to some people on the internet. I don’t know what that means for the multiverse.

Mike: In the MCU, the Daily Bugle is an online podcast thing.

John: His character name is Mulligan, and there’s also online speculation that that means he will eventually be the symbiote Toxin. Lots of symbiotes in this one.

Chris Hewitt: Ladies and gentlemen, four-time Oscar nominee Michelle Williams.

Mike: She became one of the aliens in the first film, didn’t she?

Chris Lupton: Lady Venom!

John: That’s right. Isn’t there a bit where the symbiotes get off with each other?

Chris Lupton: Yeah, there’s a weird Venom kind of sex scene.

John: Rendered entirely in CGI.

James: I need to rewatch that film.

Chris Hewitt: She’s having dinner with Eddie Brock here. Presumably he’s about to take a shit in a lobster tank.

James: Will the lobster tank return in this film? That’s the question everyone’s asking.

Chris Hewitt: This is Ravencroft. It’s kind of Marvel’s version of Arkham Asylum. Its presence here is interesting. It was where the Green Goblin ended up in The Amazing Spider-man 2.

John: Is that Naomie Harris?

Chris Hewitt: I think it might be. She’s playing Shriek, another symbiote.

John: And here is Woody Harrelson. He’s got much better hair this time, hasn’t he? His wig in the last film made him look like a circus clown.

Mike: I can’t remember the end of the last film. How does he know Eddie Brock?

John: Eddie Brock is a journalist. Was he involved in putting him away in the first place — one of his investigative reports or something?

Chris Hewitt: I think he goes into prison to interview him, in the post-credits scene.

John: I will always watch something with Woody Harrelson. He’s a very watchable actor.

Mike: Yeah, he’s good. He can do crazy.

John: What’s happening here?

Chris Hewitt: I think he’s being executed, and Carnage is going to hijack it. It was established in the previous movie that there are loads of symbiotes. Maybe the Carnage symbiote bonded with him before this? In the comics, Carnage is a completely irredeemable, psychopathic version of Venom. Nastier, fastier, more vicious.

John: And here he is, Carnage in full Christ-like regalia. I wonder if Andy Serkis will be using his mo-cap expertise for this film? A lot of CG here.

Chris Hewitt: You can’t spell ‘Carnage’ without ‘CG’. Otherwise it would just be ‘arna’. Write that down, John.

James: I hope they bring the Eminem song back.

John: I hope they don’t. When the first film came out, you would sing that in the office constantly, James. “Venom, Venom Venom...”

VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE IS IN CINEMAS FROM 15 SEPTEMBER