Yes, Venom 3 Has Post Credits Scenes - But Are They Worth The Wait?

Contains spoilers for "Venom: The Last Dance"

Many of the first reactions from critics regarding "Venom: The Last Dance" hailed it as the best of the trilogy. Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and the symbiote known as Venom continue to be one of cinema's greatest bromances, and there's a surprisingly poignant farewell by the film's conclusion. "The Last Dance" is an apt subtitle, and not just because there's a dance sequence with Venom cutting a rug with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu). Venom gives the ultimate sacrifice to protect Eddie and the world from Knull (Andy Serkis) and his army of xenophages. Eddie then fulfills Venom's last wish by going to see the Statue of Liberty, but if you've seen any superhero property over the last decade, then you probably know to stay in your seat even after the credits start. 

"Venom: The Last Dance" has two scenes that bookend the movie — a mid-credits scene that gives us our best look yet at Knull, as well as a little extra something that comes once all the credits are finished. Both of these set up possibilities for future movies in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, although neither one provides any glimpse into who the Spidey of this franchise is going to be. Completionists may want to see every frame the movie has to offer for any clues toward the future, but let's dig into what the "Venom 3" post-credits scenes mean and whether they're worth the wait. 

The mid-credits scene sees Knull giving this ominous message: "Planets will be mine! The King in Black is awake! I will kill your world! Everyone will burn, and you will WATCH!" It's only at the very end of that statement that we finally get a look at Knull's face, as he looks down for the preceding film. The mid-credits scene establishes how Knull is going to be a greater threat moving forward, as hinted at by director Kelly Marcel, who told IGN, "We know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull. The King in Black is way too powerful for 'one and done.'"

Knull still needs a codex to get out of his prison, which we assume was destroyed when Venom sacrificed himself. But Knull's likely going to get out eventually and cause trouble for the Multiverse. Hopefully, future Knull appearances do the character justice, because he was pretty much wasted here.

Knull's relegated to sitting in all his scenes while spouting off a bunch of spooky nonsense. His xenophage is the more imminent threat, so Knull essentially takes on Thanos' role from "Guardians of the Galaxy," where we know he's the bigger bad guy, but that won't come into play until much later. Knull is honestly the kind of overpowered threat who would feel more at home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe anyway. For now, he feels like a promise of something better coming down the line rather than adding all that much to "Venom: The Last Dance."

The "Venom 3" post-credits scene offers a bit more to chew on. The bartender (Cristo Fernández) from the beginning of the movie walks out of Area 51 after the big battle with the symbiotes and xenophages. It looks like a wasteland, but the far more intriguing thing happens after we lose focus on him. A cockroach scutters across the ground and comes up against a broken glass container, which could have major implications to come. 

For starters, why a cockroach? The xenophages kind of look like monstrous bugs we suppose, and Dr. Payne (Juno Temple) talks about how resilient cockroaches are earlier in the film. You know what else is resilient? Symbiotes. The cockroach could be there to symbolize how Venom is still out there after seemingly sacrificing himself in an acid shower. It's kind of like how "The Departed," a movie about figuring out who the rat in a gang is, ends on an image of a rat. 

But if you look very, very closely, something seems to happen to the cockroach. It could be attributed to weird lighting, but it almost seems to turn black. If this container is the same one Strickland (Chiwetel Ejiofor) uses to capture the piece of Venom that was left behind at the bar, it's possible we just saw Venom transfer its being into the cockroach. This is very much in the symbiote's wheelhouse, as he assimilates a horse, fish, and frog throughout the movie. Venom may not have had his true last dance yet, as he could bond with the roach and then make his way to New York to be with Eddie once more.

As with most superhero movies, "Venom: The Last Dance" has some lengthy credits to get to that final scene. Is it worth the wait? That depends on your tolerance for something that may or may not even matter in the future. 

Knull's scene is whatever. Sony may want to use him as the overarching villain in their interconnected Spider-Man Universe, but who knows if that'll happen? There are plenty of upcoming superhero movie sequels Knull could factor in, like Tom Holland's "Spider-Man 4" or an eventual "Sinister Six" film. But maybe this'll be a mid-credits scene that goes nowhere if the Sony-Verse implodes on itself. The "Venom 3" post-credits scene is in the same boat. It leaves the door open for Venom still being alive, but if this version of the character never comes back, they can just say he died in the acid and stayed that way. 

Despite concluding a trilogy and literally having "Last" in the title, "Venom: The Last Dance" feels like it's also setting up so many future plot points. There's no harm in walking out of the theater once the credits roll in the knowledge that Venom sacrificed himself so that Eddie could try to live a normal life. Maybe Knull shows up again later, and if he does, hopefully he does more than sit and look at the ground.