Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage has finally arrived in US cinemas, and all anyone can talk about is the ending. In fact, the Venom 2 post-credits has been blowing the roof off of several cinemas around the world thanks to its implications for the series.
However, the scene in question has caused some confusion, as it's not entirely clear what's going on. Even after watching multiple times, you may not quite realize how monumental the scene could be – and how exactly what happened, happened. Alright, time to stop being so vague. Let's talk spoilers!
Venom 2 post-credits: what just happened?
So, you've seen Venom 2 and thus witnessed the bromance between Venom and Eddie unfold. The duo manages to defeat Carnage, save the day, and run away to an island where they can enjoy their honeymoon together. Well, not really a honeymoon, but it might as well be. They're seemingly set to become slightly more heroic in the future, but then something happens...
After the first set of credits roll, we get a Venom 2 post-credits scene. Eddie's lying on a bed watching television when Venom asks whether Eddie wants to see a glimpse into his symbiotic world.
"Eighty billion lightyears of hive knowledge across universes would explode your tiny little brain," says Venom. Eddie, though, is dazed, and seemingly keen to learn a little more. "Here's just the smallest fraction of the things we symbiotes have experienced," Venom continues. And then, the room starts to change.
The lights flicker and Venom calls out: "What's going on?" This doesn't appear to be the effects of Venom showing Eddie his world, but something very different.
Things calm down, but the room's changed. The curtains, bed, television, lighting are not as they were a second ago. It appears they have been transported somewhere – and the television confirms as much.
As Eddie asks "What are we" and Venom confirms "It wasn't me", we can hear none other than J. Jonah Jameson, played by a returning J.K. Simmons, talking about a "shocking revelation" concerning Peter Parker being outed as Spider-Man.
"That guy," Venom says. He then licks the screen as Tom Holland's face – not Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield as some people theorized beforehand – appears. It seems Venom has joined the MCU just as Mysterio reveals to the world Spider-Man's identity, as seen in Spider-Man: Far From Home.
A man then walks into the room and asks what Eddie's doing there, to which Eddie responds with a shrug.
Is Venom in the MCU?
Yes, Venom is seemingly now part of the MCU, meaning the anti-hero will likely come face-to-face with Holland's take on Spider-Man.
Interestingly, Jameson's Daily Bugle on the television uses the publication's new logo, seen in the MCU Spider-Man movies, instead of the one that's present through the main Venom 2 story (which happens to be from Maguire's Spider-Man movies).
The Venom 2 post-credits scene appears to depict Eddie being transported across the multiverse from his original setting into the MCU. That's why everything in the room changes so much, and why Spider-Man's on the screen.
But why? How?! What just happened?!?
That's the million-dollar question. There are no clear signs as to why Venom has suddenly appeared in the MCU, and we can rule out Venom himself transporting them accidentally to the MCU, as the symbiote has no idea what's just happened.
The answer could be that Sylvie killing He Who Remains has caused the multiverse to collapse. Now, those names will mean nothing to you if you haven't watched the Loki show on Disney Plus. Essentially, a female Loki Variant (that's a version of the Loki character from a different universe) named Sylvie killed the man who was keeping the multiverse in order. He Who Remains, played by Jonathan Majors, made sure the MCU remained set in its ways, but Sylvie killing him seemingly opened everything up for chaos. In fact, during the final scene of Loki, we see a Variant of He Who Remains, named Kang the Conqueror, has already started changing the MCU.
Although the Loki series no doubt changed the MCU, the real impact of the multiverse will be felt in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The first trailer revealed that Peter Parker will go to Doctor Strange and ask him to undo Mysterio revealing his identity. This then causes a rift in the multiverse, causing Doc Ock and Green Goblin – both from the Maguire trilogy – to appear. We also know Electro, from Garfield's Spider-Man movies, will be back for the next Spider-Man movie.
There's also the potential for this to be tied to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the upcoming sequel that literally has "multiverse" in the title. No doubt Doctor Strange will have his hands full, but we don't yet know whether he's dealing with the fallout of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the Loki series, or something all-new.
Will Venom fight Spider-Man in the MCU?
Could Venom appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home? It's not against the realms of possibility. However, that movie's already packed with heroes and villains, and there's little chance they would want Venom vs Spider-Man to be a simple side-story.
We already know that the upcoming Morbius movie will feature the titular vampire, plus Michael Keaton's Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Could Venom instead join them for a new Sinister Six? That seems more likely – and could see Sony carve out its own order within the MCU for its villains and Spider-Man.
Whatever the case, it now seems inevitable that Tom Hardy's Venom and Tom Holland's Spider-Man will one day come to punches on the big screen. And you just know the Tom and Tom press conferences are going to be a lot of fun.
The multiverse has been opened, and Venom's future in the MCU is unknown. This really is the start of something massive, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has added two more entries – Venom and Venom 2 – to its already massive list of movies and shows. How they fit into our how to watch the Marvel movies in order article, even we're not sure yet. It's certainly exciting though!
For more, check out our rundown of all the upcoming superhero movies heading your way.
