To the surprise—and disappointment of few—Sony is reworking their Marvel-centric universe. The Kraven movie was supposed to bring the final pieces of the puzzle together for a Sinister Six team-up, except it missed the mark the same way Morbius and Madame Web did. It's unclear why these movies failed while Venom succeeded, but that's neither here nor there.
Needless to say, Sony is in the process of soft rebooting their Marvel projects. Who knows what the studio plans on doing in 2025 but the internet has guesses. Rumors thus far have expanded from the studio writing off the lesser-liked titles while pursuing Venom to throwing out everything and starting over.
What's most probable is Sony will continue investing in Tom Hardy and Venom. Without speculating too much, the studio put a lot into Venom: The Last Dance, and not just financially speaking. The studio gave the movie's director/writers creative liberties that wouldn't be possible unless concrete plans were in place to keep the franchise going.
For instance, The Last Dance introduces several well-known symbiotes from the comics that later go on to form the Mercury Team. The director could've used generic symbiotes or ones that shared similarities with characters from the source material, but the ones onscreen were identical to the Mercury Team. Keep in mind that Sony will continue investing in Venom for another reason.
One thing that went overlooked in The Last Dance was Flash Thompson's first onscreen appearance. Fans might recognize the name from Disney's Spider-Man movies, except this is a different Flash. He appeared as a faceless soldier in The Last Dance, losing his legs during a fight with the Xenophage. He'll eventually go on to become Agent Venom—the leader of the Mercury Team—more on them later.
Because of the groundwork laid for such a pivotal Marvel character, we can conclude that Sony has long-term plans for Venom. The studio also has an opportunity to go with the tried and true Spider-Man Vs. Venom. Sony seemed to tease their collision with a post-credits scene, but nothing came of it at the time. The good news is the studio can make good on that setup now.
Lastly, Venom is a cash cow. While Kraven, Madame Web, and Morbius barely scratched the surface at the box office, every installment in the Venom series brought in a substantial profit. For reference, The Last Dance's budget was $120 million, and its box office total came to over $470 million worldwide. Such a profit margin points to more Venom movies in the future. There are other factors to consider, but the studio probably won't turn down another trilogy when the prospects are equally promising. And, based on Venom's continued success, fans should expect to see more in the coming years.
Venom: The Last Dance is currently streaming on Fandango at home, Apple TV, and Google Play.