Is Venom 2 landing this year after all? Nobody seems to know

A screenshot of supervillain Carnage in the upcoming Sony movie Venom: Let There Be Canage
(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

Venom 2's release may not be pushed into 2022 after all, with a new report claiming that the Spider-Man spin-off movie will arrive in October 2021.

On August 25, we reported on the news that Sony had decided to move Venom: Let There Be Carnage's launch date to January 2022, with sources close to the film's production reportedly suggesting that rising Covid-19 cases, especially in the US, would result in Venom 2 being delayed by another three months.

A new report from Variety, though, has cast doubt on those claims.

The report in question is centered on the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer becoming the most-viewed YouTube teaser of all-time, eclipsing the Avengers: Endgame trailer that arrived in December 2018.

Further into its article, however, Variety claims that a Sony Pictures insider has told it that Venom 2 will not be moved from its current October 15 release date.

Per the original report from Vulture, Sony was expected to make an announcement on Venom: Let There Be Carnage's release after CinemaCon's closing night. With the Las Vegas-based event ending on August 26, we won't have a long wait to find out whether or not that's the case.


Analysis: Confusion, not carnage, reigns supreme over Venom 2

A promotional image of Venom from Sony's 2018 movie of the same name

(Image credit: Sony Pictures)

It's not surprising that fans have been left confused over Venom 2's release. Within a 24-hour period, contrasting reports have suggested that the movie may, and then may not, be delayed for a fifth time.

In the wake of Variety's article, some fans took to Twitter to express their relief that Venom: Let There Be Carnage was still tracking to launch in October. Meanwhile, on Reddit, others continued to discuss its possible delay based on rising levels of the Covid-19 Delta variant globally.

So far, Sony has declined to comment on either report. It's understandable why the studio is staying quiet – it's been busy with its CinemaCon presentation, and enjoying the success it's achieved with the first Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer.

Still, fans will want to know if Venom 2 will arrive in October. The movie's latest trailer ended by revealing that Let There Be Carnage will launch "this Fall" – which would be mean time between the beginning of September and the end of November – which gives Sony some leeway with delaying it for a few more weeks if that's deemed necessary.

With CinemaCon due to end shortly, Sony should come out and categorically state whether Venom 2 will land in theaters in time for Halloween. Doing so will quash speculation that it'll be delayed again, and finally give us a firm idea of when we can see Venom and Carnage duke it out on the big screen. Because that's all we really want, isn't it?

Senior Entertainment Reporter

As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across. Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.