Venom: The Last Dance's ending has left Venom fans emotional, even if they already knew it was the final movie, and asking one major question: is Venom really dead?
The threequel picks up immediately from the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Eddie has been framed for the murder of Detective Mulligan, so he goes on the run with Venom, planning to head to New York City and blackmail a judge to clear his name.
But that's not quite how their fugitive adventure goes as Venom's creator Knull has other plans for Eddie and Venom. Knull is trapped on Klyntar and needs a codex to free him, and it's closely linked to our favourite odd couple.
It all builds to an explosive finale that leaves the fate of Venom uncertain, so let's delve into Venom 3's ending to explain all and speculate on what the future holds.
Venom 3 ending explained
It's revealed that when Venom revived Eddie in the first movie, they became the codex that can be used as the key to free Knull from his prison.
While they're both still alive, the codex is alive (for want of a better word). But if either Eddie or Venom dies, then the codex will die with them. General Strickland – who's aware of the threat Knull poses if he's freed – is happy to kill Eddie to stop Knull.
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Strickland captures Eddie and Venom (with the help of "the six", a sure nod to the Sinister Six without actually being them) and takes them to Area 55. It's a secret lab under Area 51 that is studying the symbiotes they've captured in the world.
Before he can carry out his plan, though, the Xenophage attacks the base, and to protect the codex – aka Eddie and Venom – the other symbiotes held at the lab are freed and start taking over various people.
All the symbiotes are not enough to stop the seemingly indestructible Xenophage, though, especially when Knull sends even more of the symbiote hunters to the base through portals.
Venom understands that the only way to stop the Xenophage and Knull is to sacrifice himself. Eddie reluctantly accepts, and they head to the massive acid tank on the base, which destroys anything under it.
Eddie and Venom drag all the Xenophages under the tank, which Strickland – who was severely wounded earlier in the battle – activates. Before the acid pours down, Venom throws Eddie away to protect him.
"I'll never forget you; don't forget me, Eddie," Venom tells Eddie. "It's just bye for now."
Realising that the acid isn’t enough, Strickland blows himself up with a grenade, which destroys everything in the, finally stopping the Xenophages.
Some time later, Eddie wakes up in hospital and a mysterious general tells him that his record has been cleared – as long as he stays silent about what really happened. He then heads to New York City to see the Statue of Liberty as Venom always wanted to do.
"I won't forget you, buddy," he says, as he looks at the statue in the final scene of Venom 3. But we know what you're thinking: Is Venom really dead?
Is Venom really dead at the end of Venom 3?
Nobody ever really stays dead in the comic-book world, but it certainly seems for now that Venom has sacrificed himself to save Eddie and also the world.
But as he tells Eddie in their final moment together, "It's just bye for now," so the door is slightly ajar. Venom 3 has been confirmed to be the final Venom movie, but there are still plans for Sony's Spider-Man universe.
Knull has only just been established in the universe, and even though he's still trapped on Klyntar, he vows in the mid-credit scene that "everyone will burn, and you will watch".
There are unconfirmed rumours that Knull will be the main villain of Spider-Man 4. If Knull comes back, then we wouldn't be surprised to see Venom again, especially as Tom Hardy seems keen to reprise the role.
Talking to Den of Geek, director Kelly Marcel said the final movie of the trilogy was all about lost love.
"I'm not necessarily talking about it in a romantic way. I'm saying these two people love each other and have also witnessed what love is particularly by looking at [a human family]," she explained.
"There's a moment in the movie where Venom says, 'Sometimes I wish we could just have a life like this'. Just the simplicity of that and the knowing that they can never have it, I think is really emotional. So, yes, it is a love lost at the end."
That certainly sounds pretty definitive, but Tom Hardy has been open to the fact he thinks there's more to tell with Venom, so we can remain hopeful.
As to how Venom could come back, there's always the chance that there's a bit of Venom symbiote in the Area 55 lab. A piece of Venom was taken from the bar earlier in the movie and was kept at the lab to be studied.
It's possibly this bit of Venom that was in the broken vial we see in the post-credit scene that has now latched onto the cockroach that crawled into it.
The entire Venom symbiote might have combined when the rest of Venom was brought to the lab before the explosive climax. However, it would be an easy way out to just say a piece of Venom remained despite the massive explosion.
It's also worth remembering that a piece of Venom symbiote was left behind in the MCU when Eddie and Venom were taken back to their own universe. It could well be this part of the symbiote that brings Venom back, even if not in the same universe.
Perhaps Venom won't bond with Eddie in the future, although given how successful this combination has been, we'd be surprised if Sony didn’t find some way to bring them both back together.
For more on Venom 3, check out:
• Venom 3 review
• How many credit scenes does Venom 3 have?
• Is Tom Holland's Spider-Man in Venom 3?
• Who plays Knull in Venom 3?
• All you need to know about 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.
