Venom 2 Brings On Andy Serkis As Director

2018's comic book movie Venom was a massive success at the box office, bringing in $855 million worldwide to become one of the most successful movies of that year. Now, Sony has announced who will direct the sequel.

Andy Serkis, the Hollywood veteran who starred as Gollum in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and more recently directed the Netflix movie Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, has been hired to direct Venom 2, according to Variety.

Other directors reportedly considered for the role included Travis Knight (Bumblebee) and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes). The first Venom was directed by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer, who couldn't come back for the sequel due in part to his work on Zombieland: Double Tap.

According to Variety, filming on Venom 2 will begin later this year. Venom 1 writer Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey, Saving Mr. Banks) is coming back to write screenplay for the sequel.

Tom Hardy is set to return as Venom/Eddie Brock, with Woody Harrelson starring as the bad guy Carnage. Michelle Williams is also set to return as Anne Weying.

While Venom 1 was a huge success at the box office, it received a very poor reception from critics. The film fared much better with audiences, however.