How many Venom movies are there? How to watch in order

Venom: The Last Dance has brought an end to Eddie Brock and the symbiote’s adventures together (for now), so here’s what you need to know about how many Venom movies there are and how to watch them in order.

Thankfully, the Venom movies have only been running since 2018, making it a lot easier to rewatch the collection than, say, the rest of the Marvel universe.

Tom Hardy brought a new version of the notorious symbiote to life in Venom, alongside playing the utterly exhausted Eddie Brock. It’s a dual role that gave new life to the supervillain (for better or for worse), and now things have come an end.

Before you sit down to watch Venom: The Last Dance, here’s all the details on how to approach the Venom movies.

How many Venom movies are there?

There are three Venom movies total: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Venom: The Last Dance. There’s also an additional Venom cameo in Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Technically speaking, Venom got his first on-screen movie appearance in Spider-Man 3 in 2007. However, the current Tom Hardy Venom movie series takes place in a separate universe, meaning there are only three Venom movies in total (and one bonus appearance).

The Last Dance is the final Venom movie, meaning Tom Hardy and his version of Eddie Brock/the titular symbiote have taken their final bow. …Or so we’re to believe.

How to watch the Venom movies in order

It makes no difference whether you watch the Venom movies in chronological or release order, since they play out chronologically anyway. With that in mind, it’s best to just watch the movies in the order they came out and experience the story as it happened.

Venom (2018)

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In the first Venom movie, we meet Eddie Brock before he has his extraterrestrial encounter. He’s a struggling journalist who gets a big scoop from his fiancée Anne, a lawyer representing a questionable engineering corporation, the Life Foundation.

After confronting the CEO Carlton Drake about allegations of dangerous human trials to test symbiotic compatibility, Eddie breaks into the research facility and inadvertently finds himself biologically linked with the symbiote Venom. Together, Eddie and Venom then have to learn to co-exist, all while trying to take down the Life Foundation.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)

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The mid-credits scene of Venom already introduced the big bad of this sequel: Carnage. By now, Eddie and Venom have made a good go of attempting to rid the city of bad guys, letting Eddie cope with his moral guilt and Venom feed on human bodies. But things go awry when Eddie interviews notorious serial killer Cletus Kasady in prison.

Their encounter gives Cletus a symbiotic connection of his own, and he’s soon possessed by Carnage. Eddie and Venom then have to stop Carnage as he goes on his rampage, all while Eddie deals with his personal life crumbling apart.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)

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As the Let There Be Carnage post-credit scene established, Eddie and Venom had been sucked into another universe: Tom Holland’s MCU universe, to be exact. This is where the post-credit scene in No Way Home kicks off, with Eddie sitting in a bar in Mexico.

Eddie is enjoying his string of drinks, mumbling to himself and lamenting in a dive bar. He even expresses doubt that Thanos was real, leading the bartender to insist that his own family disappeared for five years. Eddie reckons he should head to New York to talk to these “super-people”, but a portal soon opens up and sucks him back into his own world. (But not before leaving a symbiote goo drop behind!)

Venom: The Last Dance (2024)

The final film in the series, The Last Dance signals the end for both Eddie and Venom. Eddie is on the run, having been accused of murdering Detective Mulligan, and Venom discovers that Knull is plotting to escape from his imprisonment.

Together, they’re both on the run for their own reasons, but a secret military operation threatens to capture them both. We won’t spoil here whether the ending of the new movie brings the death of either Eddie or Venom, but it’s safe to say that it’s the end of this particular partnership.

Does Spider-Man 3 count?

Spider-Man 3 doesn’t technically count as one of the Venom movies, but if you’re looking for the full symbiotic experience, then you could watch this before the Tom Hardy installments.

If you watch Spider-Man 3 before starting Venom (2018), then you’ll get a glimpse of how the original Spider-Man series tackled the villainous alien. Spoiler alert: it’s not good.

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In fact, the half-hearted and cheesy attempt at Venom and Eddie Brock (played by Topher Grace) in Spider-Man 3 might make you appreciate the latest Venom movies a little bit more.

Spider-Man 3 is currently available to stream on Disney Plus.

Where to watch

The first two Venom movies are available to stream on Disney Plus, and you can watch The Last Dance in theaters now.

When Venom 3 eventually comes to streaming services, it’ll no doubt end up with the other two movies on Disney Plus.

If you don’t have Disney Plus, then you can buy or rent the first two movies on digital platforms (like Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+) from $3.89. After its theatrical run, Venom 3 should also be available to buy or rent, most likely before the end of the year.

Venom: The Last Dance is in theaters now.

For more, check out our guides to the best superhero movies of all time and all the upcoming Marvel movies. You can also see what’s going on with Spider-Man 4, and take a look at all the Marvel movies ranked.