A Marvel Cinematic Universe veteran now looks to be joining the mix for Sony Picture’s upcoming Venom 3 sequel. Deadline reports that Doctor Strange franchise star Chiwetel Ejiofor has been cast in a currently unknown role for the forthcoming film.
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR JOINS VENOM 3 OPPOSITE TOM HARDY
Ejiofor’s casting will see him join the film opposite Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and his sentient, symbiotic alien alter-ego, Venom. The identity of Ejiofor’s role is currently unknown, and Sony had no comment on his casting. Also, his role s reportedly being kept a tightly closed secret.
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A longtime writer on the franchise, Kelly Marcel, is attached to direct the film. Ruben Fleischer directed the first film, and Andy Serkis directed its sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Marcel is producing the film along with Hardy, and Marcel is once again handling scriptwriting duties based on a story she and Hardy wrote. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker are also attached to produce the project.
Plot details are mum at the moment, other than Hardy will be back as Eddie Brock, a reporter by day, and a vigilante by night with the alien symbiote named Venom. In Let There Be Carnage, the post-credit sequence saw Eddie being transported, along with Venom, into the MCU due to the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, it didn’t last long, as Doctor Strange’s spell ultimately sent the two back to their own universe in another credit sequence for the latter. But a piece of the Venom symbiote did end up staying stranded in the MCU. It’s unknown how this will play out in later events, if at all.
While the Venom films have not been critical darlings, they have been very successful at the box office. The first film, released in 2018, grossed $213 million domestically and $856 million worldwide. Its 2021 sequel made $213 million domestically and $506 million worldwide, which is fairly good considering it was a pandemic-era release.
In 2014, Ejiofor was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the film 12 Years a Slave. He later joined the MCU as Karl Mordo in Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange, released in 2016. He appeared again as the character, albeit from a different multiversal dimension, in last year’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
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More recently, Ejiofor starred opposite Emilia Clarke in the Sundance Film Festival selected feature, The Pod Generation. He is also set to appear in the film, Rob Peace, which he also directed. Additionally, he’s slated to reprise his role as Copley in The Old Guard 2 for Netflix.
It’s unknown how Sony plans on tying Venom 3 into its other Spider-Man movie universe features. Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular Kraven, arrives in theaters on October 6 with an R-rating. Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson, arrives on February 16, 2024. Sony’s last attempt at creating an inter-connected Spider-Man movie universe, 2022’s Morbius, was not very successful with critics or at the box office.
Meanwhile, Venom 3 does not yet have an official release date, but it will likely hit theaters sometime next year.
What do you think of the casting news for Venom 3? Do you have any ideas on who Chiwetel Ejiofor might portray? Is this it for Ejiofor as Mordo in Doctor Strange? Let us know what you think about the news on The Illuminerdi’s Twitter.
SOURCE: Deadline
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