Tom Hardy is “very involved” in writing Venom 2 according to Andy Serkis

Now that Andy Serkis has officially landed the directing gig for Sony’s Venom 2 everyone involved can move on to the pre-production phase. And by everyone, we mean everyone, including the film’s star Tom Hardy, who, according to Serkis, is very much involved in the early production stages.

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“Tom is very involved with the writing with Kelly Marcel of the new story, so it’s very much centered around their take,” Serkis told SlashFilm.

Serkis revealed that he has some “very clear ideas” about the journey he wants to see Hardy’s character take in the sequel, though he was obviously mum on the details. The director also dropped a few tidbits about his desire to work with Hardy, who he admired for many years as an actor and producer.

“We’ve always wanted to work together directly,” Serkis said. “I’m deeply excited to work with Tom Hardy and to work with all the great actors who are involved in it. It’s a fantastic franchise. I’m really honored to have been asked to direct it and it feels like it’s a very contemporary story. I think it’s going to be hopefully an extraordinary piece of cinema.”

Serkis is known for his amazing motion-capture work in films such as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Planet of the Apes series, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He has also appeared in Black Panther, King Kong, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Venom 2 will mark the third feature film Serkis will tackle as director following Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which released on Netflix last year.

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The Venom sequel is currently slated for an October 2, 2020 release date.