The Venom 3 Trailer Makes Marvel's Multiverse Even More Confusing

Have rumors of the superhero movie demise been greatly exaggerated? At a time when even the vaunted Marvel Cinematic Universe has gone through some rough patches and the entire live-action DC Universe undergoes a total creative reboot, the luster seems to have finally worn off the industry's golden goose. Too bad nobody appears to have delivered that memo to the wackiest odd-couple pairing in the entire genre ... or to the legions of fans looking forward to turning their latest antics into more viral memes.

After first worming their way into everyone's goo-filled hearts in 2018's "Venom" and serving up a second heaping of chaotic energy in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" three years later, Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and the violent, head-chomping symbiote joined to him at the hip (literally) are making their grand return in the trilogy-capping "Venom: The Last Dance." Although mostly content to reside in its own separate corner of the Marvel universe to this point, the release of the official trailer for "Venom 3" changes the game in a big way by directly acknowledging the franchise's recent pivot towards the multiverse. But rather than resolving all sorts of unanswered questions about how this series fits into the overall MCU, the hints and teases included in the new footage only make things more confusing. Honestly, what else could anyone expect from these quirky "Venom" movies?

From muddled continuity details to (possibly) recurring characters to the nagging concern of exactly how the multiverse works in the first place, fans might have their work cut out for them in untangling the web weaved by "Venom: The Last Dance."

Look, it's no secret that Sony has taken a fast-and-loose approach to building out their Spider-Man Universe through the likes of the so-bad-they're-good "Venom" movies, the disastrously-received vampire flick "Morbius," and the even more critically-derided "Madame Web." (And don't forget that "Kraven the Hunter," starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is due out by the end of this year – though maybe don't bet on a big awards season push.) "Morbius" resorted to all sorts of oddball tactics to drum up hype with its tenuous connections to the MCU, while "Madame Web" couldn't even bring itself to utter the name "Peter Parker," despite alluding to him constantly. So what chaos does "Venom: The Last Dance" throw into the fray?

First of all, there's the rather bizarre reveal that the threequel will apparently return to the scene of a particularly funny crime. Remember the mid-credits sequence of "Spider-Man: No Way Home," when the film brought Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and his loudmouthed pal Venom into the MCU proper before whisking them right back to their own universe again as a result of Tom Holland's Spidey setting things right again? By focusing on one last remaining drop of symbiote goo left behind, it appeared that Sony was leaving the door open to introduce the MCU's version of Venom. Well, not so fast.

In a twist that only makes things even more muddled, "The Last Dance" returns to that exact same tropical bar frequented by Eddie and Venom, but with a mysterious new character played by Chiwetel Ejiofor seen snatching the symbiote sample for suspicious reasons. So, wait, is this taking place in the MCU universe? Is Ejiofor's character able to travel between dimensions? Or is this all somehow supposed to be the same universe, contradicting conventional wisdom? Who knows!

Oh, and then there's the Chiwetel Ejiofor of it all. The "12 Years a Slave" and "The Martian" star has always stood out as a welcome addition to any ensemble over the years, but his inclusion in "Venom: The Last Dance" inevitably raises a few eyebrows. Since these movies are at least broadly connected to the larger MCU, one would think that the creative team casting an actor who has appeared in multiple MCU films was an intentional choice to tie things together even more tightly ... but is it? There's no way to tell until "The Last Dance" finally arrives in theaters, but there's no denying that the unnamed individual played by Ejiofor here shares very little in common with Ejiofor's Baron Mordo, who most recently appeared as a secondary antagonist in "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness." So what gives?

The character in "Venom" appears to be part of some paramilitary outfit that is currently hunting down Eddie and his symbiote. The only hint provided in the trailer comes from Juno Temple's scientist, who's seen interacting with Ejiofor and heard saying, "We always knew it was impossible that we were alone in the universe. And it's our job to make sure that remains a secret." That doesn't exactly line up with Mordo's motivation in the "Doctor Strange" movies, where he's turned against his old friend Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) because of philosophical differences over their wizarding ways. Assuming these are completely different characters who just happen to look like Chiwetel Ejiofor, rather than a multiverse variant of Mordo himself, it can't help but feel like another distracting element to toss into what's already a pretty confusing mess.

Okay, now they're just messing with everyone, right? The trailer footage is pretty straightforward from here on out, delivering all sorts of goofy visuals like Venom consuming a horse or dancing with the returning Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu) in what looks like a Las Vegas casino. But there's one brief moment that arrives with zero explanation whatsoever: Eddie (who is decked out in the exact same Hawaiian shirt that he wears in the "Spider-Man: No Way Home" scene) hitching a ride with some hippies in a grungy van. But who can fans glimpse serenading the protagonist with his guitar? That would be a very grungy figure played by Rhys Ifans.

Ifans, of course, made his first appearance in the superhero world after portraying Curt Connors/The Lizard in 2012's "The Amazing Spider-Man." He was among the many villains brought back for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in the crossover extravaganza, in which he was cured of his reptilian affliction and sent back to his normal universe — or so we thought. The oddly prominent shot of Ifans in the trailer implies he's reprising his role as Connors, rather than playing a different character altogether. (Potentially pulling that stunt once with Chiwetel Ejiofor is one thing, but doing so again with Rhys Ifans? Not to go full conspiracy theorist, but that'd be a pretty big coincidence.)

So after Doctor Strange casts his final spell and causes the world to forget Spider-Man, does the now-reformed Connors accidentally end up in the "Venom"-verse instead of his own? Does he play an unexpectedly large role in tying both franchises together through the multiverse? Will the movie ultimately avoid resolving any of these concerns? Find out when "Venom: The Last Dance" hits theaters on October 25, 2024.