Venom: The Last Dance ending concludes Eddie Brock and Venom’s saga with an emotional rollercoaster of a ride and action-packed sequences. In this instalment, Eddie (Tom Hardy) and Venom face their biggest challenge yet: preventing Knull, the god of symbiotes, from escaping his cosmic prison using the Codex, a powerful fragment (basically a MacGuffin) hidden inside Venom that only appears when the two, Eddie and Venom, are in their complete sync. Here is explaining what happens in Venom: The Last Dance, including its ending and mid and post-credit scene, as well as cast, review, trailer, release date in India, and more.
Directed by Kelly Marcel, the movie wraps up the trilogy, following Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) — well, at least for now. As the Marvel movie tackles themes of sacrifice, identity, and redemption, it sets a bittersweet tone, closing one chapter while hinting at new possibilities. Below, I break down the movie’s intense climax, what happens to Eddie and Venom, and how the mid and post-credit scenes tease future developments in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU).
Spoilers alert!
Venom: The Last Dance ending: Unpacking its emotion-laden conclusion and post-credits
Eddie and Venom on the Run: A new life in hiding
After the bedlam of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie Brock and Venom are fugitives. But it is not just law enforcement that is not on their heels but also a mysterious and seemingly unkillable alien tracker. They have found temporary refuge in Mexico, lying low as Eddie tries to piece his life together. Venom, however, grows restless with their secluded existence, craving the chaos and danger of their old life.
Matters aren’t made any better for Eddie in that they soon discover that Eddie and Venom are under a manhunt by the Xenophages, an elite alien race created for the purpose of wiping out symbiotes. But this is no mere bounty hunt — the object of their hunt is the Codex, a device buried within Venom which is formed when a symbiote resuscitates a dead host (which happened at the end of the first movie). It is capable of freeing Knull, the ancient creator god of symbiotes, from his prison.
The Codex: A weapon hidden inside Venom
The Codex, introduced as a symbiotic MacGuffin, is a vital piece of Knull’s prison. The Codex only activates when Eddie and Venom are united, and if it falls into the wrong hands, Knull’s that is, he will escape and plunge the universe into darkness — by erasing all life from existence. Venom is initially too afraid of even telling this to Eddie, but the truth soon comes to light.
Meanwhile, Toxin, a resurrected symbiote bonded to Patrick Mulligan, reveals to Dr. Teddy Payne (Juno Temple of Ted Lasso) Eddie a grim warning: the only way to destroy the Codex is through the death of Venom or Eddie. For most of the third act of the movie, Eddie and Venom ruminate on that, since Xenophages are too powerful for them to fight.
Ambushed mid-air: A desperate escape through the desert
In an attempt to return to the US and find answers, Eddie and Venom board a plane bound for New York City well, Venom goes against Eddie’s shrill protests. However, the Xenophages intercept them mid-flight, leading to a spectacular action sequence in which Eddie and Venom freefall from the sky. After barely surviving the crash landing in the desert (with Venom hanging over Eddie as a parachute), they embark on a harrowing journey to avoid capture.
They take refuge with a quirky hippie couple, Martin and Nova Moon (played by Rhys Ifans, who you might know as Lizard in Spider-Man movies and Alanna Ubach) and their two children who offer them a ride to Las Vegas. The Moons are looking to take a final glimpse at Area 51 before it is decommissioned and maybe spot an alien or two in the process. They get more than they bargained for.
Area 51’s dark secrets
In Las Vegas, Eddie and Venom cross paths with Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), the convenience store owner from the previous films. A dance scene between Venom and Mrs. Chen brings a rare moment of levity, offering fans a playful nod to Venom’s eccentric personality. The dance makes Eddie wonder whether Venom and Mrs. Chen has practiced before. However, things quickly spiral out of control when the military commander Rex Strickland’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) team captures them and takes them to Area 51. The Area 51 region, in case you are not aware, is long been associated with reports of UFOs and aliens.
Separated for the first time in the film, Eddie finds himself in the scientific facility at Area 51 with other symbiotes. The stage is set for an action-packed finale.
The climactic showdown: Venom’s Last Stand
Venom breaks free from captivity, triggering chaos within the Area 51 facility. As the Xenophages arrive, a massive three-way battle erupts between the aliens, Strickland’s forces, and the freed symbiotes from the lab. When Strickland realises the symbiotes are not so bad after all, at least as compared to the Xenophages, he joins them. The action escalates to breathtaking heights as Venom and Eddie reunite just in time to fend off the onslaught.
Realising that the Codex’s activation cannot be stopped, Eddie and Venom are left with one final, impossible choice — sacrifice one of them to destroy the Codex or allow Knull to be unleashed. Eddie thinks he has made that choice. But in the end, Venom pushes Eddie to safety and chooses to merge with the Xenophages and leap into an acid tank, ensuring that both the Codex and the alien hunters are destroyed.
The emotional farewell: Eddie and Venom part ways in Venom: The Last Dance ending
Eddie and Venom exchange a heartfelt goodbye before Venom dissolves into the acid. Their parting words reveal the depth of their connection — what began as a parasitic and one could say even abusive relationship has evolved into an unbreakable friendship. Venom’s sacrifice not only saves Eddie’s life but also ensures the safety of the universe.
The aftermath: Alone at last
Eddie wakes up in a hospital in the Venom: The Last Dance ending, where a federal agent informs him that his criminal record has been erased in recognition of his heroic actions. However, he is warned never to reveal what transpired at Area 51. With his slate wiped clean, Eddie relocates to New York City, reflecting on his life with Venom and the sacrifices made.
Mid-credit scene: Knull’s shadow looms large
In the mid-credit scene, we are transported to Knull’s cosmic prison, where the ancient god of symbiotes sits bound in chains, still chained. The death of Venom has apparently made sure that the universe is no longer safe. He also shows his face for the first time. The role is played by British actor-filmmaker Andy Serkis, who also played characters through motion capture in The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Gollum) and Planet of the Apes trilogy (Caesar). This scene teases that Knull can still be freed and hints at his eventual return, setting the stage for future films in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe or even the upcoming Avengers movies, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
This brief but chilling moment confirms that Eddie and Venom’s efforts only delayed the inevitable — and Knull’s cosmic influence may soon reach Earth, potentially pulling in Spider-Man or other Marvel heroes.
Post-credit scene: A symbiotic fragment lives on
The post-credit scene takes us to a desert highway, where a familiar bartender from the film’s earlier scenes (played by Cristo Fernández, also a Ted Lasso actor) finds everything blown back to hell. As the camera zooms in, we see that a puddle contains a small fragment of the symbiote that survived the explosion. It is Venom? We hope it is. The fragment bonds with a cockroach, hinting that Venom may still exist in some form, waiting for the right moment to return.
Venom: The Last Dance movie review
Venom: The Last Dance takes its viewers on a real ride through the chaotic symbiote world, but sometimes it does feel weighed down by CGI action set pieces. There is some impressive action, though at other times if feels like jumbled masses that hamper the story and dilute the emotional weight.
But what really makes the movie work is the relationship between Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy, and Venom. Their still bizarre, uneasy friendship and growing bond form the heart of the film, managing to make it funny at times and even emotionally resonant among all the mayhem. Like in the last two movies, Venom’s childlike antics nicely juxtapose Eddie’s world-weary attitude. Hardy’s hilariously gonzo performance is layered, actually, and it is what kept me invested even when everything else doesn’t.
Venom: The Last Dance release date in India
The release date of Venom: The Last Dance in Hong Kong is 23 October 2024.
Venom: The Last Dance trailer
The cast of Venom: The Last Dance
Apart from Tom Hardy, Venom: The Last Dance also features Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, Clark Backo and Alanna Ubach in the cast.
(Hero and featured image: Courtesy of Courtesy of Sony – © Sony/IMDb)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
While 'Venom: The Last Dance' is currently the final instalment in the Venom trilogy, the post-credits scene suggests that the story might continue. There are possibilities for future Venom movies, especially given the presence of Knull and the lingering symbiote fragment.
Knull is the ancient creator god of symbiotes. He is a powerful and malevolent entity who seeks to escape his cosmic prison and unleash chaos upon the universe.
Venom technically didn't survive at the end of the movie. He sacrificed himself to destroy the Codex and prevent Knull's escape. However, the post-credits scene hints at the possibility of a symbiote fragment surviving, which could potentially lead to Venom's return in the future.
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Kshitij is a journalism graduate who did not initially intend to become a film critic, but such are the vagaries of destiny. Now, Kshitij is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a member of the Film Critics Guild, bringing expertise and experience in evaluating entertainment content with him. Additionally, he serves as a jury member on the Critics' Choice Awards in India. When he's not busy wielding words, catch him nose-deep in books or joyfully lost in the realms of gaming and photography.
