Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse rumors about who will appear have been circulating for months. While fans still have no confirmation if any of the live-action Spider-Man actors will make a cameo in the movie, it’s been revealed that at least one recognizable live-action character from Tom Hardy's Venom will appear.
One of the most prominent rumors asserted that Tom Holland was involved in the production of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Sony Pictures encouraged this rumor by including archival audio from all three live-action Spider-Man movie series that featured Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire as their respective Spider-Men in one of the trailers for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. That trailer didn’t confirm any of the actors’ appearances in the movie; in contrast, the image shared by Sony Pictures Vietnam confirms one character’s appearance.
A promotional picture for Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse posted by Sony Pictures Vietnam's Facebook page features a character who hadn’t even been part of the speculation. The photo shows a shot from the movie that features the Spot reaching through a portal into a familiar-looking convenience store and toward a familiar-looking convenience store owner. As reported by The Direct, the Vietnamese text on the image roughly translates to, “Tom Hardy's Universe appears in Spider-Verse 2.” The Direct also provided a rough translation for the caption: “After the LEGO universe, the Venom live-action universe will also feature in the Spider-Verse. And there will be more exciting things to be revealed!” Not only do the captions accompanying the image confirm that Hardy's Venom universe will appear in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but they also confirm that the woman in the image is Venom's Mrs. Chen.
This won’t be the first time the Venom universe has crossed into another Spider-Man universe. A Spider-Man: No Way Home mid-credits scene shows Hardy's Eddie Brock talking with a bartender played by Cristo Fernandez. The scene starts toward the end of their conversation, and it sounds like Fernandez's character has been catching Eddie up on the events that have transpired in the MCU. Once caught up, Eddie decides he should try to find Spider-Man - unfortunately, he’s transported back to his universe just as he makes this decision. The last shot of the scene shows the audience that although Eddie and Venom are back in their universe, a small bit of symbiote was left behind to potentially wreak havoc.
It makes sense that Eddie and Venom might appear in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, considering they have already crossed into the official MCU timeline. Although Eddie and Venom's inclusion in the film is pure speculation, the fact that an image posted from an official Sony Pictures account depicts the universe he lives in means that the chances of them showing up are greater than zero. Still, there’s been no official confirmation that Eddie or Venom will appear in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, or that Hardy was involved with the movie. Even if Eddie and Venom don’t appear in this sequel, Venom fans will still get to see their favorite convenience store owner.
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits theaters on June 2, 2023.
Source: Sony Pictures Vietnam (via The Direct)