The Only Recap You Need Before Venom: The Last Dance

It's the end of an era! The billion dollar "Venom" trilogy comes to a close this fall with "Venom: The Last Dance." The sequel teases the conclusion of the saga between Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and the extraterrestrial symbiote he's bonded with to become the lethal protector Venom. "The Last Dance" is the sequel to 2018's "Venom" and 2021's "Venom: Let There Be a Carnage," which have been enormously successful at the worldwide box office. Since the start of the trilogy, the characters have even crossed over to other universes in mid-credits scene and introduced plenty of plot threads to be resolved.

With so many moving pieces and loose ends still at play, there's a lot to remember going into "The Last Dance." More than offering Eddie and the Venom symbiote one last ride, there are subplots brewing since 2018 waiting to be paid off, including from movies outside of the "Venom" trilogy. Here is everything you need to remember before watching "Venom: The Last Dance" to make sure you're fully prepared for the superhero sequel.

While "Venom" and many of the characters in the movies are based on Marvel Entertainment properties, these movies aren't set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Instead, the "Venom" trilogy takes place in a shared cinematic universe known publicly as Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU). In addition to the "Venom" movies, the SSU includes 2022's "Morbius" and 2024's lackluster "Madame Web" and the upcoming "Kraven the Hunter." Though set in the same universe, there has been little interplay, to date, between the characters and stories in these movies.

Though each of the characters starring in the SSU movies started in the comics as Spider-Man adversaries, the current live-action Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, is in a different universe. There have certainly been references to Spider-Man in several of the SSU films, but Holland's Spider-Man is still very much in the MCU. Venom may have some experience in the multiverse, but "The Last Dance" appears to be firmly set in the SSU.

Eddie Brock himself is depicted relatively close to the comic book source material, with the character working as an investigative journalist when he is introduced in "Venom." In the SSU, Eddie is based out of San Francisco, and when we first meet him, he's engaged to attorney Anne Weying (Michelle Williams). After reading classified documents from Anne's employer, the Life Foundation, regarding illegal human trials, Eddie decides to investigate. However, when Eddie confronts Life Foundation CEO Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), Drake not only deflects all suspicion but has both Eddie and Anne terminated from their jobs.

Six months later, Anne has broken up with Eddie and is dating someone else, while Eddie is floundering professionally. Determined to expose Drake and have his journalistic credibility restored, Eddie begins secretly working with Life scientist Dora Skirth (Jenny Slate). When examining one of the symbiotes that Life had been using on its test subjects, with lethal results, Eddie accidentally bonds with it. Eddie barely escapes the Life laboratories with the symbiote, and Drake personally has Skirth killed for her betrayal.

Back home, Eddie begins to act strangely due to his bond with the symbiote, including hearing a strange voice that identifies itself as Venom. The symbiote voice reveals to Eddie that it traveled to Earth on a comet from its homeworld, intending to find a suitable planet to conquer. When mercenaries hired by Drake attack Eddie to recover the symbiote, Venom forms around him, giving him the superhuman abilities necessary to defeat them. Venom agrees to help Eddie take on the Life Foundation in return for Eddie keeping the symbiote nourished with human victims.

Discovering what happened to Eddie, Anne and her new doctor boyfriend Dan Lewis (Reid Scott), learn that Venom is causing Eddie's health to steadily deteriorate. Concerned with what this is doing to Eddie, Anne uses an MRI machine to separate the symbiote from him, taking advantage of the symbiote's weakness to high-pitched noise. However, when a symbiote known as Riot bonds with Drake, Anne briefly bonds with Venom, only to transfer it back to Eddie to stop the new threat.

With Eddie and Venom bonded together again, Venom informs Eddie he has gained a greater appreciation for Earth and humanity. Venom also finds a kinship with Eddie, revealing he was something of a social outcast among the symbiotes on his homeworld, just like Eddie's own outsider status. Working together better than ever, Venom takes on Riot as the villain prepares to send a space probe to bring more invasive symbiotes to Earth. After a prolonged battle, the probe is destroyed and Riot and Drake along with it.

No longer obstructed by Drake, Eddie is able to expose him and the Life Foundation for their crimes, restoring his journalistic integrity and career. Though Anne chooses to remain with Reid, she and Eddie reconcile while she believes Venom to be separated yet again. Eddie decides to not tell Anne and Dan the truth, continuing to operate in secret around San Francisco as Venom. To stabilize the bond and prevent Eddie's health from worsening, the two agree to consume dangerous criminals to keep Venom satiated.

Decades before the events of "Venom," aspiring serial killer Cletus Kasady and his lover Frances Barrison terrorize the area in 1996. Frances possesses the ability to scream at sonic volumes, earning her the nickname Shriek, before she is captured and sent to the Ravencroft Institute. Just prior to being transferred to Ravencroft, Shriek uses her powers to permanently damage the hearing of young police officer Patrick Mulligan, who retaliates by shooting her eye. While Shriek is detained at Ravencroft, Cletus becomes a notorious murderer and is eventually imprisoned in San Quentin, where he is given the death penalty.

In present-day, Mulligan (Stephen Graham) has since been promoted to a detective, but he's still unaware Shriek (Naomie Harris) is alive and detained at Ravencroft. Cletus (Woody Harrelson) is kept alone in a cell separated from the rest of the inmates because of the threat that he poses. With Eddie's journalistic profile increasing as he resumes his career, Cletus decides that Eddie is the only person he is willing to let interview him prior to his execution. As there are still missing victims linked to Cletus, Eddie agrees to meet with the deranged killer in his cell.

After meeting with Cletus, Venom's extraterrestrial intuition helps Eddie locate the bodies of Cletus' missing victims. News from these revelations boost Eddie's career, while heightening Cletus' unhealthy interest in the intrepid journalist. With Cletus' execution impending, Eddie visits the murderer at his cell one last time, where Cletus goads him into getting too close to the bars. Biting Eddie's hand, Cletus ingests a portion of the Venom symbiote in Eddie's blood, quietly bonding with it, unbeknownst to Eddie.

As Cletus' scheduled execution by lethal injection is about to begin, the Carnage symbiote emerges to protect him. Monstrously transformed, Carnage breaks free and goes on a renewed killing spree across San Quentin. After killing a number of guards and prison officials before freeing his fellow inmates, Carnage arrives in San Francisco and begins plotting his next moves. Carnage already fosters a deep hatred towards his father symbiote, Venom, and the bonded duo plan bloody retribution for him and Eddie.

Enjoying their newfound freedom, Cletus and Carnage break Shriek free from Ravencroft Asylum, who is overjoyed to be reunited with her childhood love. Together, the couple set fire to the orphanage where they met before setting their sights back on San Francisco. These developments make Mulligan suspicious, and he decides to arrest Eddie based on his strange behavior. Mulligan is shocked to learn that not only is Shriek alive but back with Cletus.

Bolder and deadlier than ever, Carnage and Shriek decide to share a twisted marriage ceremony at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. To commemorate the unholy matrimony, the pair kidnap Mulligan and bring him with them to the cathedral as a sort of witness. These developments come at a particularly inconvenient time for Venom, who has had a bitter spat with Eddie just as Cletus and Shriek's activities escalate. As Carnage is formed, the symbiosis between Eddie and Venom nearly irreparably ruptures just when they're needed the most.

By the events of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," the Venom symbiote has become increasingly restless being bonded to Eddie for so long. When Eddie keeps refusing to lessen the restrictions on the criminals they face, this brings their relationship to a breaking point. The symbiote separates itself from Eddie, searching for a new host it can get along with, leaving Eddie without Venom's protection. Learning from Mulligan that Cletus is on the loose, Eddie contacts Anne for her help in locating Venom.

At a rave, Venom shares his issues with Eddie to a supportive crowd, helping him regain a sense of self-worth. Anne eventually tracks down Venom after he bonds to Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), a local convenience store owner who knows Eddie. Anne convinces Venom to forgive Eddie and allows the symbiote to bond with her again, so she can bring him to Eddie while Mulligan has him detained. Reunited, Eddie and Venom decide to confront Carnage and Shriek at Grace Cathedral and destroy them together.

Venom interrupts Carnage and Shriek's makeshift wedding at the cathedral, where Shriek hangs Mulligan with a chain, seemingly killing him. Carnage proves to be stronger and more vicious than Venom, nearly killing the hero, before Venom starts fighting more strategically. Venom tricks Shriek into using her sonic scream to separate Cletus from the Carnage symbiote before devouring them both. In the resulting destruction, falling rubble from the cathedral crushes Shriek, killing her for good.

Though Mulligan appeared dead, he is revealed to have survived his hanging in the aftermath. Mulligan is last seen in "Let There Be Carnage" opening his eyes, which now glow blue. Given how we see him in trailers for "The Last Dance," it appears Mulligan has bonded with a symbiote himself. Mulligan's comic book history suggests he may become the supervillain Toxin, from a symbiote offspring of Carnage that wants to menace Venom for destroying his father.

Before moving into "The Last Dance," Venom and some of his friends have had encounters with other universes. Because of a multiversal spell cast by Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," Eddie was transported into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Venom revealed to Eddie that the symbiote collective had knowledge of the multiverse through its hive mind. Watching a television broadcast by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), Venom recognizes Spider-Man (Tom Holland), with Eddie deciding that he should meet the webslinger.

Eddie's MCU visit, however, proves short, with Strange's reversal spell apparently sending him and Venom back to their own world. A piece of the Venom symbiote remains in the MCU, left behind at the bar where Eddie was scoring drinks before skipping the tab. Back in the SSU, Mrs. Chen meets the Spot (Jason Schwartzman) in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" during his tour of the multiverse. Because of her own experiences, Mrs. Chen is completely unfazed by the Spot before he is whisked away to another universe.

The trailers for "Venom: The Last Dance" make it clear that Eddie and the symbiote are being hunted by multiple parties. As the military tracks Eddie around the world, more symbiotes from Venom's world arrive on Earth. These symbiotes bond to all sorts of local fauna, leading them to monstrously transform and attack Venom. Given Venom's original mission to conquer Earth, this hints that the symbiotes may be angry that Venom hasn't completed his objectives.

"The Last Dance" trailers include Chiwetel Ejiofor playing a currently unnamed military officer hunting for Venom. Interestingly, the trailers contain footage of Ejiofor's soldier investigating the beachside bar from "No Way Home," where Venom appeared in the MCU, and he recovers the missing symbiote piece. This suggests that Ejiofor's character may have the ability to travel universes in his search for the Venom symbiote. There is also the distinct possibility that this could be a confusing plot hole between Venom appearances.

There are a number of potential enemies for Venom in "The Last Dance," with several glimpsed briefly in trailers for the sequel. In addition to the military and invading symbiotes, Mulligan is slated to return, seen held in confinement since the events of "Let There Be Carnage." It is unclear how the Toxin symbiote is affecting Mulligan, but a symbiote with a blue glow is seen menacing Venom in the trailers and promos. However, the final theatrical trailer for "The Last Dance" teases an unholy antagonist to challenge Venom in the new movie.

The final theatrical trailer includes a long-haired figure sitting on a throne in a shadowy and rocky location. This has since been confirmed to be Knull, God of the Symbiotes, and arguably Venom's most powerful enemies in the comic books. Knull's role in "The Last Dance," including the actor who plays him, is still being kept tightly under wraps. But given the symbiotes' knowledge of the multiverse and Knull's vast powers, Sony may have big plans in store for Venom and the SSU's future.

2022's "Morbius," 2024's "Madame Web," and the upcoming "Kraven the Hunter" are all presumably set in the same universe as Venom. If Sony is hoping to bring its Marvel properties together, a cameo by these movies' characters could occur in "The Last Dance." The most likely crossover is "Kraven the Hunter," to help promote the SSU movie's debut at the end of 2024. Then there's the matter of the MCU Spider-Man and the long-teased meeting between Hardy's Venom and Holland's Spider-Man.

Sony has been talking about the SSU Venom and MCU Spider-Man meeting each other for years. There were even plans for Venom to appear in the climactic battle of "No Way Home" instead of a brief post-credits scene appearance. With the sequel to "No Way Home" in development and Knull slated to surface in "The Last Dance," Sony could be setting up another crossover. After all, against the God of Symbiotes, Venom may need Spider-Man's help to bring Knull down if the fight escalates across universes.