Here’s Who Plays The Marvel Villain Knull In Venom: The Last Dance

4 weeks ago

Rather than wait for the movie to hit theaters and preserve the surprise, Sony confirmed that Venom: The Last Dance would serve as the cinematic debut for Knull. The powerful villain, who is essentially the God of the Symbiotes, is now Part of Sony’s Marvel universe. Will he make his way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the future? When will we see Knull next? There are many remaining questions but, at least for now, we finally know who is playing the big baddie.

As those who have seen Venom 3 are probably aware, none other than Andy Serkis plays Knull in the film. The actor and director has a longstanding history with comic book films. Not only did he star in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Black Panther, but he directed 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In the DC Universe, he played Alfred in The Batman and will return in The Batman Part II. Now? He’s playing one of the most powerful beings in the history of Marvel Comics.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Last Dance director Kelly Marcel discussed how Andy Serkis became Knull. Essentially, this decision was made several years ago when Let There Be Carnage was happening. When it came time for him to appear, no other actors were considered. Here’s what Marcel had to say about it.

“Oh my God, I love Andy [Serkis] so much. We all love Andy. We knew on Venom 2 that he was going to be this [Knull] character, should we be able to bring the character into this movie. He was the only person we asked, and of course, he was thrilled and excited. He’s one of the greatest voice actors there is. Knull is also mocap and CGI, and so it was brilliant [to work together]. It was like a reunion. Andy and I are friends, so it was just very, very fun to get to spend some time with him on this. It felt like a full circle in a way.”

It’s important to note that Marcel previously said that Knull will not just be a one-and-done villain. For now, Sony’s only other Spider-Man spin-off movie on the books is Kraven the Hunter in December. Beyond that, Spider-Man 4 starring Tom Holland is currently in the works. That film, however, takes place firmly in the MCU. So it’s tough to say where Knull will pop up next. But they seemed to be trying to set him up as a Thanos-level threat.

Knull first appeared, unnamed, in Thor: God of Thunder #6 in 2013. He later appeared as we know him now in 2018’s Venom #3. Created by writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman, Knull gained a lot of popularity rather quickly. He eventually went on to headline an event series titled King in Black, which was published in late 2020/early 2021.

Here is the synopsis for Venom: The Last Dance.

“In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. 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.”