'Venom 2' Cinematographer Robert Richardson Explains Why He Joined The Sequel, Confirms Return Of Woody Harrelson

When acclaimed cinematographer Robert Richardson signed on to shoot Venom 2, lots of people (including yours truly) were surprised. Richardson, who shot Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, along with several other Quentin Tarantino films, hasn't filmed a superhero movie before, and in a new interview, he explains what drew him to Venom 2. He also seemingly confirms that Woody Harrelson will be back. No word on Woody Harrelson's awful Venom wig, though.

Wondering what's up with Robert Richardson working on Venom 2? The cinematographer spoke with Collider about his decision to shoot the upcoming superhero sequel, saying he's been looking to film a superhero film for a while now. He was originally set to shoot Ben Affleck's standalone Batman movie – but that obviously never happened. But Richardson worked with Venom 2 director Andy Serkis before, and Serkis understandably wanted to work with him again. Richardson continued:

"I thought, 'Well this is something I haven't done that I would love to try to do.' And then Andy Serkis, who I worked with on Breathe, gave me a call a month ago and said that he was up for this and would I be willing. I'd seen the film. I watched it again, then they sent me a script and I felt like, yeah, I would say yes anyway to Andy just because I would say yes to Andy, but I also think it's a great... I think it's unexplored yet, and it's going to explode, and this film, I think, will help it explode, because you have a remarkable central character with Venom, but now you've got Woody Harrelson, who's going to obviously make his own little entrance here, and we'll see what else comes in with the Sony Marvel collaboration. I look forward to it. It's a massive change for me, but I'm excited. I think Hardy is one of our best. He never misses. I so look forward to sitting with him and watching him perform."

While it's long been assumed Woody Harrelson, who briefly played Cletus Kasady AKA Carnage in Venom, would be appearing in the sequel, and Harrelson himself said he was likely to return, no official Venom 2 casting announcements have been made. But Richardson has seemingly confirmed the actor's return while praising the project.

All that said, you probably shouldn't expect Richardson's trademark overhead lighting to appear in Venom 2. The cinematography tells Collider he plans to stick somewhat close to the style established by Venom cinematographer Matthew Libatique. "That actually hasn't been determined in a lot of ways, but I do think that you have to honor what Matty did—you can't not," Richardson said. "We're going to use locations that are already established. They're going to be lit in what I hope is exactly the same way, so that you don't feel that there's a disconnect from that film to this film."

Venom 2 opens October 2, 2020.