The Big Picture

Collider’s Steve Weintraub sits down with co-stars Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor for
Venom: The Last Dance
.
The movie follows Eddie Brock and Venom on the run after the events of
Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

During this interview, Temple and Ejiofor discuss the unique friendship between Eddie and Venom, the emotional depth of the film, and their upcoming projects with Gore Verbinski and Scarlett Johansson.

Now that Venom is wrapping up its current iteration, Tom Hardy and writer-director Kelly Marcel are pulling out all the stops and bringing out their biggest guns. This means casting the best of the best to round out Venom: The Last Dance. No stranger to comic book adaptations, Juno Temple (The Dark Knight Rises) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) have been brought in to pack the film’s cast of ringers and shoot its success into interplanetary space.

Venom: The Last Dance follows the events of 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and symbiote Venom go on the run as each is hunted by their respective worlds. The third films also features Alanna Ubach, Stephen Graham, and Rhys Ifans.

During this interview, Temple and Ejiofor sit down with Collider’s own Steve Weintraub to chat about Hardy’s wild passion for his dual characters of Eddie and Venom. Temple also discusses working on Gore Verbinski’s latest film, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, and Ejiofor shares his experience on Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, and how Ejiofor’s character is a far cry from Dr. Strange’s Karl Mordo.

COLLIDER: I’m a fan of both of yours. It’s great to see you both, especially in person, as we were just saying. I’m going to start with the most important question up front: I was told you needed to be in Ted Lasso to be in this movie, so how did you get a role?

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR: [Laughs] Yeah, it was very difficult. It was quite complicated, and a lot of talking had to be done.

JUNO TEMPLE: But you can kick a ball.

Image via Apple TV+

EJIOFOR: Exactly. They obviously knew about my football past.

TEMPLE: I made it happen. I talked to my people.

General Strickland Doesn’t Share a Reality With the MCU
Image via Sony

I want to make sure I say this right. You played Karl Mordo in the MCU, and it was pretty recently. When they approached you for this, were you like, “Are you sure you’re looking for me?”

EJIOFOR: I was excited! I knew that it was a completely different character in a completely different world. It’s Venom. I was sort of intrigued by that, and then I was very excited to read it. I love Kelly, and I think there’s something really brilliant about what she’s done with Tom and Venom. I just think it’s such a special part. It’s such a special franchise. I was excited to look at it. General Strickland is a great character, so I was thrilled.

The other thing for people to realize is it’s not the same reality as the MCU.

EJIOFOR: [Laughs] Definitely a different character.

100%.

Juno Temple Explains Why People Connect to Eddie and Venom
“Everyone can relate to having an inside voice that might be quite monstrous sometimes.”
Image via Sony Pictures

You never know when you’re making a movie if it’s gonna be hit, if people are going to respond. With Venom, this is the third film, and people love Tom as Venom and Eddie. What do you think it is about the role and these characters that have resonated with so many people around the world?

TEMPLE: I think everyone can relate to having an inside voice that might be quite monstrous sometimes. Sometimes, it picks you up and sometimes forces you to do things you don’t want to do. I feel like we, as humans, do have inside voices, and I think that actually creating a visual like Venom, that is Eddie’s inside voice, has been something that people have really loved. Some people find him sexy. Some people find him exciting and dangerous. Some people are [shocked], but you react.

Ultimately, the friendship between the two of them is something that, from the first movie to the end of The Last Dance, is something you’re going to go see it for because the relationship and how it develops is brilliant. This one is emotional. The real love affair in this movie is between Eddie and Venom. That’s something that you don’t see in movies from this universe: a love story, and it’s a male friendship. I think that’s a really special thing.

EJIOFOR: That’s what I really connected to about the Venom films is that they’re centered on this friendship. You’re really hyper-invested in this friendship.

Related ‘Venom: The Last Dance’s Action Scenes Will Blow Your Mind According to NYCC Footage The third Venom movie arrives in theaters on October 25.

TEMPLE: And you were saying something about leaving the cinema with this one.

EJIOFOR: It’s rare to be leaving the cinema, seeing something in the superhero genre, and you find yourself thinking about your own friendships and your own interpersonal dynamics as you’re walking away, but it’s still an adventure. It’s a great ride, but it also is talking about something that really does connect us all in this idea of friendships and what they mean. Over the course of these three films, I think you really got a chance to explore that. In this iteration, it’s emotional.

TEMPLE: It shows how much Tom cares about the role, too. I don’t know who else could play Venom. You know what I mean? It’s something that has been really, really important and creatively fulfilling, and something that he’s been deeply passionate about for a long time. I love that when he talks about both the characters, he’s like, “Well, they are one. I can’t really play one without the other.” The duality of what he created with the two of them is something really special, and it’s really cool to see happen on set, too. It’s literally unlike anything else you’ve witness on a set before. For me anyway. I was like, “Wow! Wow!”

Image via Sony Pictures

I also think that the movies are fun. I think that people want to just go have fun at the movies.

TEMPLE: And laugh! They want to make you laugh. And also make you go back in awe. When the trailer came out, and it was a Venom-Horse, and the reaction that people gave to that… Also, every time, it feels like they’re creating even more wildly imaginative sequences.

100%.

Gore Verbinski’s Next Movie Is “Wild and Brilliant”

I believe you’re working with Gore Verbinski.

TEMPLE: I just wrapped that movie a couple of months ago, yes.

He hasn’t made a film in eight years. Please tell me about it and what drew you to it. Also, [Chiwetel], you worked on Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut with June Squibb. Please say what that was like and tease that film a little bit.

TEMPLE: The movie with Gore, I’m so excited about. The script is wild and brilliant. It’s gonna have some really interesting things to talk about, really interesting topics. It has one of the coolest casts ever, led by Sam Rockwell, who I just adore. Gore’s like a big kid. He’s super excited about what he’s doing and what he’s making. He sees the whole thing before you’re even on the set. It’s a sci-fi, dark comedy, truthfully. I’m really excited about it.

Me too.

TEMPLE: Yeah! [Laughs] I love Gore so much. I had such a good time with him.

June Squibb Is an Amazing Lead in Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Eleanor the Great’
Image via BET+

EJIOFOR: Eleanor The Great is the film with Scarlett Johansson. She’s directed it and June Squibb stars in it. I was very excited to join the cast. June Squibb is amazing, just another 92-year-old with a dream. [Laughs] It was so much fun to do that with her and explore this really fun, interesting, meaningful, and sometimes emotional journey. But really beautiful. I think Scarlett is an amazing director, and I’m really excited for everybody to see the film.

TEMPLE: I’m excited to see it!

Venom: The Last Dance arrives in theaters Friday, October 25.

Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.Release Date October 25, 2024 Director Kelly Marcel Distributor(s) Sony Expand

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