Tom Hardy is finally saying goodbye to his version of Venom in the last and latest entry in the franchise Venom: The Last Dance. The actor has played the role for six years, beginning with 2018’s Venom, and though the films themselves have received mixed reviews, Hardy and the symbiote’s relationship and performance have always been praised.
While the latest film is rated PG-13, Hardy mentioned that they did have ideas to make it R-rated and go all the way like Hugh Jackman’s final film (before his comeback this year) Logan. The actor mentioned that though he and director Kelly Marcel were down for the idea, they kept it PG-13 as the rest of the films were similarly rated.
Tom Hardy Was Ready For A Logan-Esque Send-Off For Venom
Tom Hardy began his stint as Eddie Brock in the 2018 film Venom. The actor had previously on blockbusters like the Star Trek franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dark Knight Rises, and was also cast as Rick Flag in the DCEU’s Suicide Squad, before exiting the film. Despite mixed reviews, the film earned $856 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo).
The actor reportedly signed a three-film deal with Sony to appear in its Spider-Man franchise, forming a Venom trilogy (via ScreenRant). After the success of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Hardy announced that a third film would be happening, which would be his last outing as the loud-mouthed symbiote.
While prompting the third film Venom: The Last Dance, Hardy and director/screenwriter Kelly Marcel mentioned that they had ideas for a Logan-esque R-rated send-off for Venom. He mentioned that were ready to go all in but ultimately decided to keep in line with the ‘mission statement’. He said to The Wrap,
We’ve already got that. We envisioned that on ‘Venom 2.’ We’re already there. We’re quick as well. It’s like we’ve got four or five movies already on the side, in different tones, with multiple characters. If you ask us to do something. We’re not shy, but we have to edit down to what the mission statement is. We’re both busy heads. If we say we’re going to do something, we mean it.
Ultimately the final film remanded PG-13 and fans’ wish to see an R-rated Venom still remains a dream.
Tom Hardy’s Venom Was Initially Supposed To Be R-Rated
The only live-action portrayal of Venom before Tom Hardy’s version was Topher Grace’s in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. The film was not that well received compared to previous installments starring Tobey Maguire and fans obviously wanted a more ruthless version of the symbiote. However, an R-rated superhero film was always a risk.
The success of R-rated superhero films like Deadpool and Logan seemed to give hope to the studio and Sony announced in 2017 that they were developing an R-rated adaptation of Venom (via Collider). With Tom Holland being cast as Spider-Man in the MCU just a year before in a rare collaboration between the studios, Sony hoped to capitalize on its success.
The film ended up being 2018’s Venom starring Hardy, eventually retooled to be rated PG-13 so that it would not hinder chances of a Spider-Man crossover (via Variety). While the film was successful with an $850 million box office, an R-rated version of Venom ended up being a dream for fans till the end.
Venom: The Last Dance is currently playing in cinemas.
