‘Venom 2’ will be directed by Andy Serkis, who confirms ‘No Gollum’ planned in LOTR TV Show
Andy Serkis was prematurely announced by star Tom Hardy on Instagram, but now it’s official: Andy Serkis will direct the Venom sequel.
Serkis was on a Television Critics Association panel for FX’s miniseries A Christmas Carol, so he was asked about directing Venom 2.
“I’m right at the beginning stages,” Serkis said. “I’ve got some very clear ideas about the journey I’d like to see visually and how we can take the characters into another dimension.”
No surprise as he’s joining the project, crediting the star, Hardy, for his contribution to the story.
“Tom is very involved with the writing with Kelly Marcel of the new story, so it’s very much centered around their take,” Serkis said.
Serkis directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and spoke about helming the big fan tentpole film.
“What I’ve learned from directing full stop is you’re working with an extraordinarily team of highly talented people and to create an atmosphere where everyone is able to do their work to 150%,” Serkis said. “As much as anything, directing is about creating an atmosphere of people not being afraid to step forward with their very best work.”
Hardy is someone with whom Serkis had been trying to collaborate for many years.
“I’ve known Tom for many years and always admired him hugely as an actor and producer,” Serkis said. “We’ve always wanted to work together directly. 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.”
The first film connected with audiences despite mediocre critic reviews (Read The Dispatch review HERE) and set up the appearance of madman Cletus Kennedy becoming Carnage, the insane red symbiote, voiced/played by Woody Harrelson.
Serkis skyrocketed in popularity playing Gollum in the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series will be set in the Second Age, so that comes way before Smeagol and Gollum. Serkis confirmed this.
“There are no plans for me to be involved in it at all,” Serkis said. “I’m really excited that there’s going to be an Amazon TV version of it. I think it’s a world that will continue to be explored. From what I hear, they’re working on an earlier time frame before the Lord of the Rings story that we were involved in and the Middle-earth that we’ve seen in Peter Jackson’s films. But I believe that it will be shooting in New Zealand and Middle-earth will still be the character that we loved.”
Director Ruben Fleischer helmed the first film, but is not returning. Venom 2 stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, both will certainly be back with Woody Harrelson becoming an evil, red symbiote named Carnage.
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