Venom 3 officially morphs into pre-production phase

Venom 3 has officially entered pre-production, per an Instagram video from star Tom Hardy.

In a behind-the-scenes video from the first Venom, Hardy can be seen acting out the harrowing transition from Eddie Brock to the titular symbiote inside of him. The video itself isn't news, but the accompanying caption reads: "Whilst working on V3 [pre-production]."

In case it wasn't clear enough already, Venom 3 will see Hardy return as Venom, a role he played in the first two movies. However, the threequel will be helmed by a new director. Whereas the first movie was directed by Uncharted director Ruben Fleischer, and the second movie saw Andy Serkis step in to direct, now the still untitled Venom 3 will be helmed by Kelly Marcel, who wrote the first two movies.

This isn't the first time Hardy has used Instagram as a platform to make news. Last year, he strongly suggested that Venom 3 would be his last appearance in the series by way of an Instagram post showing the third film's screenplay and the caption "last dance."

Venom 3 still doesn't have a release date, but the fact that it's in pre-production is certainly good news for fans, as it shows things are moving at a steady clip behind the scenes. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but the script is being written by Hardy and Marcel. The second movie ended with detective Patrick Mulligan (Stephen Graham) apparently absorbing the super-sonic powers of Shriek (Naomie Harris), and a post-credits scene saw Eddie and Venom clip into a universe where Tom Holland's Spider-Man exists, so it's safe to expect some sort of crossover.

While you wait for Venom 3, check out our guide to all the upcoming superhero movies flying our way through 2023 and beyond.