Venom 2 Casts Stephen Graham, May Be R-Rated

Today’s been an exciting day of announcements for the follow-up to the 2018 hit adaptation of the Marvel anti-hero Venom as Deadline reports that Stephen Graham, best known for playing Al Capone on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire, has signed on to join the cast.

In addition to the casting of Graham in a currently undisclosed role, producer Matt Tolmach revealed to Joblo that following the record-setting success of Warner Bros’ Joker last month, Sony Pictures is exploring the possibility of aiming for an R-rating on the sequel.

“I mean, I think you always have to think about [it], now that that works,” Tolmach said. “Having said that, our movie worked really well. Our franchise exists as it is, and I don’t think anybody is looking to just say, ‘Hey, they [did it]!’ We have a place in the world. So it isn’t like suddenly everybody’s considering what to do with the rating. … I think what Joker does is it tells you that you can succeed. For a very long time, that was the narrative. And Deadpool sort of wrestled that to the turf, and then Logan, but for a long time, that was considered totally forbidden. … So you know, I think it’s the greatest thing in the world that R-rated movies are being embraced by massive audiences. And it just means that there are more opportunities for that kind of storytelling.“

Andy Serkis will direct Venom 2, marking his first foray in directing a comic book feature after appearing in two Marvel Studios movies. 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.

Tom Hardy will reprise his role as Eddie Brock in the film alongside Michelle Williams as Anne Weying. Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, was briefly introduced into the Venom movie franchise during the original film’s mid-credits scene that revealed Woody Harrelson as Venom’s archenemy. It was recently confirmed that Harrelson would be returning for the Venom sequel. Oscar nominee Naomie Harris (Moonlight) was also reportedly in talks to play the role of villain Shriek, who is Carnage’s love interest and accomplice.

Venom amassed an enormous $855 million worldwide during its box office run despite negative reviews and a so-so response from fans (form your own opinion by picking the film up here).

(Photo Credit: Backgrid Images)