Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis recently claimed that the upcoming film features an LGBTQIA “coming out party” for Venom.
Serkis spoke with Uproxx to promote the upcoming film where he discussed a scene in the film where Venom goes to a rave.
The director explained, “It was originally going to be a carnival of the damned and it ended up being Tom had got to know Little Simz, who’s a brilliant rapper and also stars in the movie. And she actually had made a song, unbeknownst to her, called “Venom” that connected very much with the first movie.”
“And so Tom got in touch with her and that song became sort of the focus. Well, Tom and [co-writer] Kelly [Marcel] were always about Venom coming out and going to a party that was a very sort of an LGBTQIA kind of festival, really, I’d call it, and so this is his coming out party basically. This is Venom’s coming-out party,” he added.
Uproxx writer Mike Ryan then pressed Serkis asking, “Well, like actually coming out? Because that’s very interesting.”
Serkis responded, “Well, coming out, being out…”
Ryan then countered, “Well, you just compared it to LGBTQIA. That’s very interesting.”
Serkis then explained, “Well, what is interesting is that it’s just like, here he is kind of, he says in the movie, ‘We must stop this cruel treatment of aliens.’ He said, ‘You know, we all live on this ball of rock,’ you know? And so he inadvertently becomes a kind of… he’s speaking for the other. He’s speaking for freedom of the other.”
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Ryan then stated, “And it’s very obvious that Eddie and Venom are in love. Like we all know that. They are. They are in love.”
Serkis confirmed, “Absolutely they do love each other and that’s the kind of the center of the movie is that love affair, that central love affair.”
In the production notes for the film supplied by Sony Pictures Serkis previously claimed, “The film is a love story – but not the love story you might think.”
He explained in the notes, “It’s very much about the extraordinary relationship between symbiote and host. Any love affair has its pitfalls, its high points and low points; Venom and Eddie’s relationship absolutely causes problems and stress, and they have a near-hatred for each other.
“But they have to be with each other – they can’t live without each other. That’s companionship – love – the things that relationships are really about,” he asserted.
Serkis would further describe the relationship between Eddie and Venom saying, “It’s Jekyll and Hyde. Eddie is rather arrogant, thinking life owes him a favor. Venom is the complete opposite, unfiltered and speaking his mind totally.”
He continued, “And they’re trapped together. After meeting in the first movie, they’ve now got the seven-year-itch; they’ve had enough of each other and can’t wait to be apart.”
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The director further elaborated on why Eddie and Venom break up referring to a scene where the two argue in Eddie’s apartment.
He said, “The argument in the apartment is one of the first things we shot. For two years, these two have been living a frat party kind of life in Eddie’s apartment, and he’s sick and tired of his place being trashed. It’s like living with an oversized toddler with no control whatsoever.”
And while Serkis claims that Eddie and Venom are in some kind of LGBTQIA relationship in this new interview with Uproxx, the film’s producer Avi Arad notes that Eddie is still in love with Anne Weying.
He says, “As much as Eddie loves her, he does not know how to do it, which leads them to a breakup.”
Not only does he claim Eddie is still in love with Anne, but he also notes that Venom wants Anne to be part of their life as well because he sees himself as one with Eddie.
Arad states, “On the other hand, Venom is far more romantic. He will do anything to have Anne in their lives because as far as he’s concerned, Eddie and Venom are one. Venom is totally infatuated with her and wants her to be part of their little family. He’s very protective. It’s an interesting juxtaposition of a human and an alien – the alien shows better understanding of what his partner needs, which is quite unique.”
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Following up on this in the production notes, Serkis would also state, “Venom holds a mirror up to Eddie, showing him who he really is: selfish, arrogant, egotistical, incapable of loving anybody but himself.”
“Eddie and Venom can’t be together, but also can’t cope with being apart. He has to commit to Venom because he has no options,” he adds.
As for Eddie and Anne, Serkis says, “The undercurrent is that Eddie and Anne really do care for each other, but they are not suitable for each other, because Eddie is only ever thinking about himself.”
What do you make of Serkis’ comments regarding Eddie and Venom’s relationship?