Venom may be the starring character in Sony’s Venom, which will infect theaters this fall. But, he may not be the only web-head in the film. Two separate rumors suggest that we might see the Spidey villain Carnage, as well as Spider-Man himself, in the upcoming stand-alone Marvel movie.

First, Carnage, and this is the more plausible of the two rumors. On Tuesday morning, January 16, actor Tom Hardy posted a previously unseen piece of art depicting himself as Venom with the face of Carnage behind him. Hardy quickly deleted the photo, but not before the internet got hold of it and reshared it on social media. The origins of the artwork is unknown. The fact that Hardy removed the post as opposed to keeping it up and thanking the artist (presumably a fan) as a gesture speaks louder volumes than the mere presence of Carnage in the artwork.

Carnage, another symbiote-based Spidey villain who is several degrees more violent than Venom, is still only rumored to be the antagonist in the film. The character is also rumored to be played by Riz Ahmed who is already slotted to appear in Venom in an unknown role.

The deleted post from Tom Hardy's Instagram. Carnage appears behind Tom Hardy, who is covered in the Venom symbiote.

Now for Spider-Man. In the latest episode of Collider Movie Talk, streamed live on YouTube Tuesday afternoon, documentary filmmaker and host Jon Schnepp guaranteed that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man “is gonna be in Venom.” While other Spider-Man characters will not appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — i.e. no Venom in Avengers: Infinity War — it is possible for Spider-Man to appear in stand-alone Marvel movies from Sony.

“For the last couple months, we’ve been talking about Venom, we’ve been hearing about how Sony’s keeping it all separated,” said Schnepp. “Spider-Man’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but every other character that’s in the Spider-Man universe is separate.”

In 2015, Schnepp directed and edited the in-depth Superman documentary, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?, which interviewed the filmmakers, producers, writers, and other crew members of the canceled Superman movie Superman Lives, which would have starred Nicholas Cage as the Man of Steel fighting a giant robotic spider.

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Although Venom will hit theaters in a relatively short ten months, little is known about the movie save for several few tidbits. Aside from Hardy’s role as disgraced journalist Eddie Brock, the film is taking influence from two specific early ‘90s Venom comics: Venom: Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes, a five-issue arc that took place in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man. So rumors that involve two major characters such as Carnage and Spider-Man are no doubt exciting for fans to mull over, even if they’re only rumors at this point.

Venom will hit theaters on October 5.

Photos via We Got This Covered, Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures, Acclaim

Photos via We Got This Covered, Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures, Acclaim

Written by Eric Francisco

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