Venom: Let There Be Carnage is about to be released after a long wait for the sequel and a very positive response to the trailers. People are excited to see Tom Hardy return with the alien symbiote and even more so to see just how deranged Woody Harrelson can make the alien’s psychotic equivalent, Carnage.

But will it be playing on Netflix? Will a streaming service once again take views from the cinemas? Or to put it another way: can we watch it in our pyjamas? Read on to find out.

(Source : Pixabay)

Venom: Let There Be Carnage

By far the most beloved villain in Spider-Man’s impressive roster of bad guys, Venom is a complicated soul who has gone through many incarnations over the years. In the comics and animated television show he has been everything from a ruthless and bloodthirsty alien with a need to bring out the worst in people, to a tamed wild animal loyal to his host. Unfortunately, for a long time, Sam Raimi’s producer-interference-filled threequel was the only depiction we had of Venom so we had to do with an inaccurate-no-matter-what-version-you’re-going-for, Topher Grace playing the alien symbiote.

And when Sony released their version, there were a lot of surprised backhanded compliments of “No, really, it’s good.”

This version of Venom and Eddie Brock, who was no longer a petulant rival of Peter Parker but a local hero always looking to do the right thing, blended well together, with the charm of their relationship being the way they bickered like an old married couple, meeting somewhere in between bloodthirsty alien and tamed loyal pet.

And now the sequel is coming, with the only other villain in Spider-Man’s history that could beat Venom: Carnage.

So where can we watch it? Is it going to be available at home?

Streaming vs Cinema

Fortnite, GGPoker, National Theatre, Twitch and many others have embraced the streaming experience. You no longer have to be there: you can be there virtually, and that’s just where the argument for streaming vs cinema starts.

You’ll see comments in favour of streaming services like Netflix saying, “There’s no talking”, “I didn’t have to go anywhere”, “I watched it in my jammies” and those are all valid points in favour of streaming. And that’s all without mentioning the price tag, which for the short moment, is likely to be cheaper, or entirely free, at home. But there are moves to change that, with Disney releasing Marvel movies for £30 on top of their monthly subscription service fee.

Directors throughout Hollywood are busy expressing their disdain for this change, since they’ve likely just spent their whole careers trying to make the ultimate cinema experience. Like, epic space drama Dune’s director Denis Villeneuve, who will have fans watching his movie, on the big screen, yes, but also the small with HBO Max and the same release date.

None of this is likely to entirely destroy the industry. The cinema has survived the talkies, colour television, the VCR, the internet, and other evolutions in entertainment. Fortunately for the industry, the cinema offers something that simply cannot be replicated at home. Whether it’s the communal feeling of a shared experience, or just an entirely black room free of distractions, who’s to say right now.

As for Venom? Well, he’s already graced our small screens once with his origin story, which was sitting amongst the Netflix catalogue until around about the time that marketing for the sequel started. It’s likely, yes, the original Venom movie and its sequel will be back at some point, but for now, there is no mention of abandoning the 90-day head start usually obligated to cinemas in favour of Netflix or any other streaming service.

Well, we know one thing for sure: Venom: Let There Be Carnage will hit UK cinemas on Friday, October 15th, 2021.