Andy Serkis Says ‘Venom 2’ Features A Central “Love Affair” Between Eddie Brock & Venom

Before its release, “Venom” seemingly had disaster written all over it; a goofy “Spider-Man” spinoff that didn’t feature Peter Parker and a forgettable/generic villain in Riot. But never underestimate Tom Hardy and Marvel Comics characters getting asses in seats, as the film ended up making Sony Pictures an impressive $856 million at the global box office.

READ MORE: Tom Hardy Says ‘Venom’ Franchise Has To “Establish Ourselves” Before A ‘Spider-Man’ Crossover Can Happen

It’s been an interesting experiment and at the heart of the films seems to be bizarre, symbiotic between Hardy’s Eddie Brock and the Venom (a parasitic alien entity), turning into a weird comic book take on the classic Gene Saks film “The Odd Couple,” something the trailer for the upcoming sequel, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” has hinted at getting bigger play in the second installment.

Director Andy Serkis stepped in to helm the sequel and while speaking with Uproxx during their interview leaned into the idea that Eddie Brock and Venom’s relationship has seemingly evolved to a “love affair” and is central to the new film.

READ MORE: ‘Morbius’: Jared Leto Calls Working On A Marvel Superhero Film “A Pressure Cooker”

“Absolutely they do love each other and that’s the kind of the center of the movie is that love affair, that central love affair,” the filmmaker told Uproxx of the relationship between Eddie Brock and Venom.

The filmmaker also suggested that the film leans into other queer elements of the character, especially in a scene when Venom goes to a rave.

READ MORE: Sony Says ‘Morbius’ Doesn’t Take Place In The MCU Despite Tyrese Gibson Saying So

“Well, Tom and [co-writer] Kelly [Marcel] were always about Venom coming out and going to a party that was a very sort of an LGBTQIA kind of festival, really, I’d call it, and so this is his coming out party basically. This is Venom’s coming-out party,” he said.

“Let There Be Carnage” will see Woody Harrelson‘s mass-murderer Cletus Kasady get his hands on the Carnage symbiote (spawn of Venom), making him one of the more powerful villains in the Marvel Comics pantheon of supervillains. Carnage is a “Spider-Man” character fans have been dying to see on the big screen, however, given the PG-13 rating might be slightly constrained compared to his comic book counterpart.

READ MORE: Tom Hardy’s Passion For ‘Venom’ Earned Him A Writing Credit On ‘Let There Be Carnage’

It’ll be interesting to see how Sony moves forward with characters like “Venom” and “Morbius” alongside the heap of other spinoffs that are in the works including a rumored “Spider-Woman” film from director Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart“) and J.C. Chandor‘s “Kraven The Hunter” starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Tenet,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron“).

“Venom: Let There Be Carnage” is set to swing into theaters on October 1.