Why Venom: Let There Be Carnage Has Left Fans Furious

While Andy Serkis’ Venom 2 is one of the many Hollywood blockbusters to be hit by the coronavirus, the director is keen to have fans salivating as the movie’s marketing campaign kicks it up a notch. With Venom 2 dropping its first teaser poster and confirming we should all call the comic book caper Venom: Let There Be Carnage, there's been a major update to the highl anticipated sequel.

It’s no surprise that Woody Harrelson will be back following his post-credits Venom tease and is suiting up as Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage. It makes sense that Serkis wants to explore the bloody backstory of Kasady to promote the movie, however, some fans are rightly perplexed by the title. After the title reveal, it didn’t take long for #MaximumCarnage to start tending on Twitter, but what's the beef?

For those up on their Spider-Verse, “Maximum Carnage” was the name of a lauded 1993 crossover arc. The critically-acclaimed Carnage arc was a 14-part miniseries that included a who's who of Spidey faces including Doppelganger, Demogoblin, and Carrion. Up there with Jean Grey’s “Dark Phoenix Saga”, “Maximum Carnage” is largely held as THE defining Carnage story.

Posting on Twitter, outraged Venom aficionados theres their rage at the sequel's title:

One fan even wrote, "Yes, I know Maximum Carnage's storyline involves Spider-Man. No, I don't give a sh*t. A movie sharing its title with a comic book doesn't mean it has to be an adaptation of said storyline."

That being said, others pointed out how Serkis calling it Venom 2: Maximum Carnage would’ve only rattled fanboys. Similar to how Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: Civil War, and the frankly abysmal Dark Phoenix only used their comic book source material as a rough outline, naming Venom 2 after “Maximum Carnage” would’ve undoubtedly piled on the pressure.

While Venom: Let There Be Carnage's casting of Naomie Harris as Shriek also teases that Serkis will lean on "Maximum Carnage", it doesn't necessarily mean he'll tell the whole story in one movie. If Let There Be Carnage is anywhere near as popular as Ruben Fleischer's 2018 movie, Venom 3 could be a major possibility and adopt the name Maximum Carnage.

There’s also the suggestion that a “proper” adaptation of “Maximum Carnage” will be saved for further down the line. Amy Pascal is the de facto Kevin Feige of Sony’s Spider-Verse and has already said there are literally hundreds of characters waiting in the wings. With “Maximum Carnage” being a veritable Avengers: Infinity War of Spider-Man rogues, it would make sense for the studio to save the acclaimed arc until all the major players have been introduced.

In all honesty, Serkis would never be able to please all of his Venom critics. Similar to how Disney has struggled to gain the rights to every Marvel character, a live-action “Maximum Carnage” would probably never be able to use the likes of Captain America and would have to get creative with the comics.

Still, remember how the last two Spider-Man movies snared Iron Man and Nick Fury, while the upcoming Morbius appears to have bagged a return for Michael Keaton as Vulture. Ultimately, a “Maximum Carnage” movie was never going to win everyone over. You only have to look at two failed attempts at “The Dark Phoenix Saga” to see comics can sometimes be a curse for movie adaptations. Even if Sony is sticking a pin in the idea for now, a bunch of whining fans isn’t going to force the powers that be into changing the title.

Also, what's in a name? At least Venom: Let There Be Carnage it trying something different when compared to the likes of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Either way, Venom: Let There Be Carnage looks like it will be a bigger, bloodier, and more brutal affair than the first movie. Still, maybe Serkis should’ve just called it 2 Venom 2 Furious and got it over and done with?