Stephen Graham (‘The Irishman’, ‘Rocketman’) has reportedly joined the cast of ‘Venom 2’, which is being directed by Andy Serkis, and has already been partially filmed. Graham’s role has not been disclosed. The first ‘Venom’ was a surprise hit last fall, earning $855M worldwide, despite poor reviews. The sequel is due to hit theaters in the fall of 2020.
Tom Hardy returns in the lead role of underground reporter Eddie Brock, with Michelle Williams as his former finacée Anne Weying. Woody Harrelson, who made an uncredited cameo in the first film as killer Cletus Kasady, will return and it is believed he will take on the form of symbiote Carnage. Naomie Harris is believed to have joined the cast as Frances Barrison, a.k.a. the sonic-powered sycophant Shriek.
Graham won two SAG ensemble awards for the cast of HBO’s ‘Boardwalk Empire’. He played Al Capone. He can currently be seen in Martin Scorsese’s Netflix movie ‘The Irishman’, which is being pushed as an awards contender. Earlier this year, he appeared in the Elton John musical ‘Rocketman’, his voice was heard as the pig-like Gruagach in the flop ‘Hellboy’, and he appeared in the British miniseries, ‘The Virtues’. He will next be seen in another British miniseries, ‘A Christmas Carol’, as Jacob Marley.
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He has received three BAFTA Awards for ‘This Is England ’90’, ‘Save Me’, and ‘Accused’. Among his other credits are Scorsese’s ‘Gangs of New York’, Guy Ritchie’s ‘Snatch’, ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’, and ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’.
Ruben Fleischer, who directed the first ‘Venom’ reportedly clashed with star Hardy during production and chose not to return for the sequel. Serkis, who is renown for his work with motion-capture filming, was selected to replace him. Not much is known about the sequel, other than Harrelson will become Carnage and act as the main foil opposing Hardy’s anti-hero Venom. Williams, who had a brief transformation into “She-Venom” in the first, has expressed a desire to do more special effects-heavy work, especially under Serkis’ guidance. It was recently teased that ‘Venom 2′ may be rated-R, following the success this year of Warner Brothers’ ‘Joker’.
‘Venom 2’ is expected to be released on October 2, 2020.
Source: Deadline
