Tom Hardy suggests studio politics got in the way of Venom getting tangled in a web with Tom Holland's Spider-Man (2025)

When Tom Hardy announced Sony’s third Venom movie, Venom: The Last Dance, fans’ hopes about seeing the razor-sharp toothed symbiote tangoing with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man became dashed. Could Venom and Spidey cross paths eventually? Maybe. However, Calling your movie “The Last Dance” feels like a nail in a coffin for future opportunities on the silver screen. While speaking with Mike DeAngelo of The Discourse Podcast, Tom Hardy eluded to “studio politics” getting in the way of his Venom crossing over with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.

During an interview about Hardy’s upcoming crime series MobLand, DeAngelo asked if “studio politics” prevented him from shooting webs alongside Holland’s friendly-neighborhood-wall-crawler. DeAngelo told Hardy the question came from his kid, who wanted to see the two Marvel characters clash on the big screen.

“Same problem with my children as well,” Hardy said about his kids’ disappointment that Venom and Spidey never got to engage in meaningful banter in a film. “I don’t know how to answer that question.”

According to DeAngelo, Hardy said there were talks about Venom and Spider-Man squaring off, but at the end of the day, corporate’s gonna corporate.

“We got close,” Hardy said about a crossover. “We got as close as I could possibly imagine getting, apart from doing a film together, which I would have loved to have done because that just means so much fun.”

“And for all the reasons that you explained ultimately in there,” he continued, alluding to DeAngelo’s inquiry about politics gumming up the works.

Hardy also said that a Venom and Spider-Man crossover would have skewed toward younger audiences.

“Fundamentally, for me, it would be for the kids,” he explained. “Because, you know, as much as adults love superhero films, as you can tell by the box office when they’re successful, I think I’m constantly reminded by children how important these characters are. And they don’t know why their favorite characters aren’t in films together.”

It’s been a bold choice for Sony to build a Spider-Man movie universe without Spider-Man. Yes, Holland stars in films where Peter Parker is the focus, but a Spider-Man-less Spider-Verse? It’s no wonder several of Sony’s Spider-adjacent movies tanked at the box office (and with fans). You need to give the people what they want!

Does it upset you that we won’t get a Venom and Spider-Man crossover from Sony? What are the chances Disney reaches out to Tom Hardy to reprise his Venom role in the MCU? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He's also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You'll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.