The first reactions to Marvel and Sony's highly anticipated comic book sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage are now in, so was it worth the wait? Well, yes it sounds like it may well have been, with early reviews praising director Andy Serkis' no-nonsense, full-throttle approach to the character, as well as teasing a post-credits scene that is sure to have audiences jumping to their feet in celebration.

According to one audience member, Venom Let There Be Carnage is a "frenzied mix of buddy movie, romance and horror" that "wastes no time in getting down to business and not relent." Another fan calls the sequel "ridiculous from start to finish" and adds that it takes the first Venom and "ramps everything up to 11."

Venom: Let There Be Carnage picks up with our hero and symbiotic anti-hero over a year after the events of 2018's Venom, with investigative journalist Eddie Brock struggling to adjust to life as the host of the alien symbiote Venom, which grants him super-human abilities in order to be a lethal vigilante. Brock attempts to reignite his career by interviewing serial killer Cletus Kasady, who becomes the host of the symbiote Carnage and escapes prison after a failed execution. While it may not sound like it, this reviewer called the story "human and very beautiful."

The mysterious post credits scene has garnered quite the reaction from those lucky enough to have seen it, but what could it involve? Another fan-favorite symbiote entering the fray? Maybe Kraven the Hunter is involved? Could the scene teases Venom's introduction to the Marvel multiverse? Unfortunately, the rest of us will have to just wait and see...

While we wait and see whether Venom will be shoe-horned into the Marvel Cinematic Universe or not, Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis has recently hinted at a face-off between Hardy's Venom and Tom Holland's Spider-Man at the very least. "Look, that's the question on everyone's lips," Serkis said to IGN. "They want to know if Venom is gonna meet Spider-Man, but personally, it's never gonna happen. I'm only joking, of course it's gonna happen!"

Distributed by Sony Pictures and rumored to have a short runtime of 90 minutes, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, and based on a story she wrote with Tom Hardy who reprises the dual role of both Eddie Brock and Venom. The most exciting element of the Sony sequel is by far the big screen debut of popular Marvel villain Carnage, played by Woody Harrelson, who Tom Hardy has nothing but high praise for. "Woody is one of the coolest people I have ever met," Hardy said of his co-star. "As a human being and as an actor, he is just formidable. There is nothing that you can present him with that will shock him; he has an answer, a solution to everything and he has a story to tell. As an artist, he is just wonderful, with such a brilliant, talented playful creative mind, that it's an absolute joy to work with him."

Starring Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, and Stephen Graham alongside Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson,Venom: Let There Be Carnage is scheduled to be theatrically released by Sony Pictures in the United States on October 1, 2021, having been delayed a year amid the ongoing global situation.