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Venom: The Last Dance brings an end to Eddie and Venom's story, but it also introduces a major character to Sony's Spider-Man universe.
Knull – who is a relatively new comic-book character, introduced officially in 2018 – makes his live-action debut in Venom 3. He's trapped in a prison on Klyntar as a result of his symbiote creations turning on him and he's seeking a way out.
There's a "codex" that acts as a key for his particular prison, so he sends a Xenophage (a symbiote hunter) to Earth to track down the codex which is linked, somehow, to Eddie and Venom. (Exactly how, we'll leave you to discover for yourself by watching the movie.)
You might be wondering who is playing Knull in Venom 3, so we're here to help. There are minor spoilers ahead for the movie, so look away now if you don’t want to know anything.
Who plays Knull in Venom 3?
The actor playing Knull has some history with the Venom trilogy, as it's none other than Andy Serkis.
Serkis directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage and did plan to come back to direct Venom 3 too. He had a schedule clash with his Animal Farm adaptation, though, so Kelly Marcel – who co-wrote Venom and wrote both Let There Be Carnage and The Last Dance solo – took over to make her directorial debut.
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Talking to The Hollywood Reporter, Marcel revealed that Serkis was always going to be Knull, going back to the sequel. "He was the only person we asked, and of course, he was thrilled and excited," she explained.
"He's one of the greatest voice actors there is. Knull is also mocap and CGI, and so it was brilliant [to work together]. It was like a reunion. Andy and I are friends, so it was just very, very fun to get to spend some time with him on this. It felt like a full circle in a way."
This is only just the start for Knull though, even if this is the final Venom movie.
"We were always aware of Knull, but knew that we needed to lay the foundation of the Venom character, and his relationship with Eddie, before introducing him. This is just the beginning for Knull," Marcel 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'. This film introduces Knull, but it just touches the beginnings of his story."
His role is like Thanos in The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble if you prefer), where Knull sends his minions to track down the codex rather than get directly involved. Here though, it's because he can't do anything else as he's trapped on Klyntar.
This could mean that if we see Knull again in Sony's Spider-Man universe (perhaps in Spider-Man 4), then we might get a different actor playing him, such as how Josh Brolin took over the role of Thanos from Guardians of the Galaxy onwards.
It's certainly planned that we'll see more of Knull going forward, but as with every plan, it's not guaranteed. He does end the movie with an ominous warning: "Everyone will burn and you will watch."
Better watch out, Spidey.
For more on Venom 3, check out:
• Venom 3 review
• All you need to know about Venom 3
• How long is Venom 3?
Venom: The Last Dance is out now in cinemas.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
