During CinemaCon 2022, Sony shared a sizzle reel that confirmed new installments to two popular franchises, according to IGN. Venom 3, which had previously been indicated by producer Amy Pascal last year as “in the planning stages,” is now officially a go, as is a sequel to Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Venom 3 will follow last fall’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. The first Venom movie was released in 2018, starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, the human reporter who becomes the host for a foul-mouthed alien. In addition to returning to fight Carnage, a being of his own unintentional creation, in the sequel, Brock also made an appearance in a post-credits scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home. We reported last week that Sony’s other Spider-Man properties, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse and Madame Web, are now set to open in 2023.
There are few details on the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel, including whether it is definitively a sequel or just another installment that takes place at some other point in the series. The recently-released Ghostbusters Ultimate Collection snubbed Paul Feig’s 2016 all-female Ghostbusters: Answer the Call, and this is just further evidence that the 2021 film from director Jason Reitman, who took over helming from his father, Ivan Reitman, who died in February, will now propel the series going forward. There is speculation given the post-credits scene from Ghostbusters: Afterlife that Ernie Hudson’s Winston Zeddemore may be returning to his ghost-busting ways.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife made nearly $200 million worldwide at the box office, while the first Venom scored more than $850 million and its sequel crossed the $500 million mark. At CinemaCon, Sony also shared a peek at footage from Kraven the Hunter and announced another Spider-Man spinoff, El Muerto, which is set to feature Puerto Rican star Bad Bunny as the first live-action Latino lead for Marvel. Its release date is currently scheduled for January 12th, 2024.