10 Small Details You Missed In Venom: The Last Dance

Contains spoilers for "Venom: The Last Dance"

The fact we got a full-fledged "Venom" cinematic trilogy before "Grand Theft Auto 6" is an impressive feat. Eddie Brock and his antiheroic symbiote, both played by Tom Hardy, remain the cornerstone of Sony's Spider-Man Universe that still doesn't have a Spider-Man. The webhead doesn't appear in "The Last Dance," but there's plenty in the movie to delight diehard fans of the character and this franchise.

Knull (Andy Serkis), god of darkness and creator of the symbiotes, is imprisoned and needs a codex to escape. Such a codex is conveniently located within Eddie Brock/Venom, so they become the target of one of Knull's xenophages, which are scarier monsters than you might think. Eddie goes on the lam, where he also becomes the target of General Rex Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who's hell-bent on keeping Earth safe, as well as Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple), who seeks to study the symbiotes. And along the way, Eddie runs into a hippie-ish family who show him the life he could have had if he didn't pursue the path of the "lethal protector." 

From comic book references to potentially setting up Venom's future, there are a lot of details you might have missed in "Venom: The Last Dance." Hopefully, this clears the air and gives you another reason to rewatch the flick to see how everything connects.

After audiences get acquainted with Knull in the opening sequence of "Venom: The Last Dance," we see Eddie Brock still at the bar within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It appears he's getting a recap of what all's been going on there in the last few years, as he references a purple alien and stones. This is obviously Thanos and his Infinity Stones, but Eddie insists aliens don't care about stones. The one he's familiar with is more interested in brains. 

The bartender (Cristo Fernández) insists it all really happened, as his family disappeared for five years during the Blip. It makes sense if you get a sense of déjà vu, given this is the same conversation Eddie has in the post-credits scene of "Spider-Man: No Way Home." Of course, that scene ends by setting up the symbiote's inclusion in the MCU proper, as we eventually see a little bit of Venom's goo get left behind after Eddie is sucked back into his own reality.

Eddie winds up in his own universe where the bartender has a different hairstyle, and it doesn't take long for Venom to leave behind yet more goo at the bar that's eventually captured by Strickland. We have a feeling all these various goo droppings are going to be very important going forward in both the MCU and the Sony-Verse. 

For years, there's been talk of superhero fatigue. It's open to interpretation whether we've hit that point yet, but it does appear as though some viewers are experiencing multiverse fatigue. The MCU is currently in its Multiverse Saga as it barrels toward "Avengers: Secret Wars," and the same concept has been used in the animated "Spider-Verse" movies as well as the DC Extended Universe. We've now officially reached a point where comic book movies are aware that a lot of people are tired of the trope, but that doesn't mean the studios are going to stop cranking them out anytime soon. 

Over the summer of 2024, "Deadpool and Wolverine" took plenty of potshots at the concept, with Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) explicitly stating how the multiverse just wasn't working. Now, Venom is getting in on the fun. While Eddie's still at the bar at the beginning of the film and makes himself a drink, the symbiote mentions how he's so done with this "multiverse s***." 

These multiverse jokes seem to be ways for studios to have their cake and eat it, too. They recognize this trope is quickly overstaying its welcome, but they're not going to stop doing it because it makes it really easy to cram in cameos from other franchises. If Venom's over the multiverse after one excursion to another reality, we can't help but wonder how audiences feel when every other superhero property deals with it. 

The trailer for "Venom: The Last Dance" featured many things that didn't make sense at the time. Chiefly among these is the inclusion of several actors who have already appeared in Marvel properties — Chiwetel Ejiofor, who was in the "Doctor Strange" films as Baron Mordo, as well as Rhys Ifans, who played Dr. Curt Connors, aka the Lizard, in "The Amazing Spider-Man." Theories quickly emerged that Ejiofor must be a variant of Mordo in "Venom 3," but that's not the case. 

Ejiofor plays a completely different character, which makes sense because "Venom" is set firmly in a different universe than the MCU. Strickland just happens to look like Mordo, and since he bites the dust by the film's conclusion, it's not like he's suddenly going to learn magic in a future film to become Mordo in the Sony-Verse. 

Ifans is another interesting casting choice because he's more intrinsically linked to the Spider-Man franchise. Again, fans developed theories suggesting that this character could be Connors on the run or something like that. But his name is Martin, and he's a husband and dad who just wants to take his family to see Area 51 before it's demolished. There doesn't appear to be any multiverse trickery, but perhaps casting them was an intentional choice to demonstrate how the "Venom" movies exist as their own thing. 

After Eddie and Venom get dropped off in Las Vegas, Venom really shows off his knowledge of movie history. He references "Rain Man" while asserting his belief that he can win a ton of money gambling. Venom also says, "Yeeeeah, baby," in what seems to be his best attempt at an Austin Powers impression. Plus, after Eddie gets a suit upgrade, Venom mentions, "We are so money," a nod to the 1996 film, "Swingers." 

It's possible Eddie and Venom spent a lot of time watching movies over the year they've been bonded, even though they've been quite busy during that time. Then again, if Venom has access to Eddie's thoughts, he might be able to access his knowledge of those movies and quote them. Even if Eddie hasn't seen those movies, one of Venom's many powers is his ability to peer into the symbiote hive mind, so he may be able to learn about those movies from others of his kind.

Regardless, it's appropriate that Venom quotes "Swingers," as that film stars Jon Favreau, who plays Happy Hogan in the MCU. Everything is connected in the multiverse, even if it's in the most tangential of ways. 

Venom isn't exactly the most discrete symbiote around, and when Eddie's trying to get inside a casino, his "buddy" knocks out a couple of guys — a security guard and a drunken guest — and steals the tuxedo off the latter. When Venom mentions how sexy Eddie looks, he responds, "I've won 'Sexy Man' awards before."

Since we're not sure what awards Eddie would have won in-universe (Sexiest Man Who's Ever Crawled Into a Lobster Tank?), this seems to be more of a meta reference to the fact Tom Hardy was dubbed the U.K.'s sexiest man alive in 2021, beating out the likes of Daniel Craig and several other Toms, like Tom Holland and Tom Hiddleston. 

2021 just so happens to be the year the last Venom film — "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" — came out, so maybe Hardy was on voters' minds when he won the honor. It would be funny if Hardy won specifically for his role as Eddie Brock because he usually doesn't look so dapper in these movies. He's usually very sweaty and looking like he just rolled out of bed, but maybe that works for some people. 

Although it initially seems that Detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) dies during the final battle in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," his eyes turn blue, suggesting he's bonded with the symbiote called Toxin. We see what happens to him in "Venom 3," as Mulligan/Toxin are transported to the underground Area 55 base. Before Knull was revealed as the big bad, there was a lot of chatter online speculating that Toxin could be the villain, but the opposite is actually true. 

Toxin has acted as an antagonist within Marvel Comics, but he also turns into more of a heroic figure at certain points. This can be seen in the 2005 "Toxin" limited series, from writer Peter Milligan and penciller Darick Robertson, in which he and Mulligan track down Razor-Fist, who's escaped from The Raft. It's this more benevolent iteration that shows up in "Venom: The Last Dance." After the xenophage wreaks havoc at Area 55, Toxin gets released and actually tries to stop the xenophage from getting Venom and subsequently the codex that could release Knull. 

Toxin ultimately dies, but he shows how symbiotes, while monstrous-looking, aren't inherently bad. Other symbiotes also get released from the lab to help Venom take down the xenophage and prevent Knull from escaping ... at least until he's needed in another Sony project. 

Even though "Venom: The Last Dance" has been marketed as the final Venom movie, it definitely seems to be setting up a bunch of plot points for the future. Not only does this include the introduction of Knull, but Rex Strickland seems to have some shadowy bosses behind him as well. There are a couple of scenes in which we glimpse people in a darkened room watching the movie's events unfold, while Strickland also references a mysterious "Imperium" program. Could this be a reference to the alien race known as the Shi'ar? 

The Shi'ar Empire (also known as the Imperium) is an aggressive force that aims to rule over other cultures and worlds. The goal of the Shi'ar is to "marry" other cultures to make the empire stronger. Conquered worlds are allowed to self-govern, provided they don't run afoul of the overarching Shi'ar rule. Take this with a grain of salt, but what if those shadowy figures were actually Shi'ar, working behind the scenes to conquer Earth and using Strickland and his forces to remove impediments like the symbiotes and Knull? 

There's one big problem with this, of course: the rights to use the Shi'ar — one of many alien races we want to see incorporated into the MCU – belong exclusively to Marvel Studios. The Shi'ar have been part of many Marvel storylines since their introduction in "X-Men" #97 by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, but we're far likelier to see them show up in the MCU than the Sony Spider-verse.

After Venom, the very first symbiote introduced by Marvel Comics, became a big hit, it shouldn't have been too surprising that Marvel wanted to capitalize on his popularity and expand upon the mythology. This included adding a ton of other symbiote characters into the comics, several of which have already appeared in other "Venom" movies, like Riot (Riz Ahmed) and Carnage (Woody Harrelson). "Venom: The Last Dance" brings in a ton of symbiotes, too, but the difference this time is that they're not fighting against Venom. Just like Toxin, they're trying to help him in the final act to stop Knull from obtaining the codex.

We see the symbiotes initially suspended in various containment units, but after the xenophage begins causing mayhem, they're released and promptly bond with nearby human hosts. They don't exactly get proper introductions, but based on color schemes, we can surmise that Phage and Scream are part of the mix. Lasher is likely the symbiote that attaches to Clark Backo's scientist character, as the symbiote draws from her Christmas tree pin to turn her into a green-and-red figure, which is Lasher's color scheme in the comics. 

Most excitedly, we get to see Agony bond with Dr. Payne. With her long tendril-like hair, this one is immediately recognizable. We don't really see what becomes of Dr. Payne following the final battle and Venom's sacrifice, but one would imagine she's still out there, leaving the door open for more Agony appearances. 

As tends to be the case with any high-profile blockbuster, there were a ton of rumors and reported leaks prior to the release of "Venom: The Last Dance" about what was in the movie. Amusingly, many of them didn't come to pass in any shape or form.

One "Venom 3" rumor suggested the film would finally introduce Spider-Man, with Eddie meeting a young version of Peter Parker only to realize – through his access to the multiversal hive mind — that Peter has to kill him one day. Of course, he'd have a change of heart and end up protecting Peter from some larger threat. But despite this franchise being called Sony's Spider-Man Universe, there's still no Spidey in the film. The only young boy in the film is Martin's son, who isn't Peter.

After Venom dies in a shower of acid at the end, destroying the codex and keeping Earth safe from Knull for the time being, Eddie does wind up in New York. This could put him on a collision course with Morbius (Jared Leto) and Madame Web (Dakota Johnson), who we assume are both in the Big Apple. Since Venom's dead, though, there's really no reason for them to have any interest in Eddie. However, if that post-credits scene suggests what we think it suggests, it's only a matter of time until the lethal protector returns.

Much of the marketing surrounding "The Last Dance" has emphatically stated that it's the last "Venom" movie, and the story does seem to wrap things up. Venom sacrifices itself to protect Earth and Eddie, killing the xenophages in the process. Eddie's now in New York, where he could seemingly start a normal life. But the mid-credits scene for "Venom: The Last Dance" sees Knull making some ominous threats before finally lifting up his head so that we can see his face. It definitely hints there are larger plans for him, which may very well include Venom.

Meanwhile, the post-credits scene sees the bartender from the beginning of the film escape the ruins of Area 55. As he wanders away to look for help, the camera closes in on a cockroach scuttling around a broken vial, which could be the container Strickland used to capture a piece of Venom left behind at the bar. Cockroaches are known for being resilient and withstanding heavy doses of radiation, as Dr. Payne notes earlier in the film. The same could be said of symbiotes, and if there's a piece of Venom still out there, it could make its way across the country and find Eddie in New York. 

This could finally set the stage for Venom and Spider-Man doing battle, or Venom joining forces with a version of the Sinister Six. It would also be odd to finally introduce Knull but not have Venom — his most famous symbiote — appear. Even if this is the final "Venom" movie, we doubt we've seen the last of the character.