Venom 3 director Kelly Marcel has explained Michelle Williams' absence from the Marvel film.
The Last Dance is set following the events of Venom: Let There Be Carnage with Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom on the run from both of their worlds.
The unlikely duo are forced into making a devastating decision when all hope seems lost, marking the last dance between Eddie and Venom.
While Hardy reprised his role as the titular superhero, one noticeably missing former cast member was Williams, who played Eddie's fiancée Anne Weying in the first two Venom films.
Related: Venom 3 runtime confirmed ahead of cinema release
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Marcel explained Williams' absence from the first film as Venom 3 focuses on the relationship between Eddie and Venom with a road movie style.
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"We really wanted to isolate them," she explained. "We wanted to take them away from their comfort zone. We wanted to take them away from everything they knew and everyone they loved, so that they really only had each other to rely on now.
"We knew that we wanted them to reach symbiosis with each other and decide that they were going to be the Lethal Protector, and that they were going to go on this journey together."
She continued: "And, of course, that quickly becomes very dangerous for them, because the very act of them being together means that the world is at risk. So they come to understand that the thing that they have chosen is actually their downfall, and so all of the characters from the previous movies — other than Peggy Lu’s Mrs. Chen — didn’t belong in this road trip story."
Related: Venom 3's final trailer reveals Spider-Man star's return
The final movie in the trilogy brings back Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan as well as Peggy Lu as Mrs Chen.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Rhys Ifans also appear in the film, but not as their previous Marvel characters Karl Mordo and Curt Connors/Lizard.
Early reactions to the film have been overwhelmingly positive, with Digital Spy's movies editor Ian Sandwell writing: "Venom: The Last Dance is the most entertaining of the trilogy.
"It's largely a funny and sweet road trip with Eddie and Venom living their Thelma & Louise fugitive dreams, including car karaoke and dog rescuing. You might even find yourself getting emotional."
Venom: The Last Dance is released in cinemas on October 25.
