Venom 3 director explains why key character is missing from The Last Dance

Venom 3 is out this week, but Eddie Brock’s original love interest is nowhere to be seen in The Last Dance. Here’s why, via the film’s director Kelly Marcel.

Venom: The Last Dance is out now in multiple territories, before hitting US screens tomorrow. Meaning Dexerto’s Venom 3 review is now live, in which we awarded the movie 2-stars, and wrote:

“The Last Dance is a finale of sorts for this iteration of Eddie Brock and his alien alter ego. Because of this, the movie tries to conquer both high-stakes action and emotional beats. Some of this it achieves, but not enough to make Venom a well-rounded trilogy with a sensical ending.”

But one character who played a prominent role in the first two movies is missing, and thanks to new quotes from the film’s co-writer and director, we now know the circumstances surrounding her absence.

Sony Pictures

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter why Michelle Williams’ Anne is nowhere to be seen, Kelly Marcel explained that the new film is all about getting Eddie Brock and Venom out on their own.

“We really wanted to isolate them,” Marcel revealed. “We wanted to take them away from their comfort zone. We wanted to take them away from everything they knew and everyone they loved, so that they really only had each other to rely on now.

“We knew that we wanted them to reach symbiosis with each other and decide that they were going to be the Lethal Protector, and that they were going to go on this journey together. And, of course, that quickly becomes very dangerous for them, because the very act of them being together means that the world is at risk.”

Marcel continues: “They come to understand that the thing that they have chosen is actually their downfall, and so all of the characters from the previous movies — other than Peggy Lu’s Mrs. Chen — didn’t belong in this road trip story.”

So that’s why there’s no Michelle Williams in Venom 3. And with Marcel confirming in the same interview that this really is the “last dance” for both she and star Tom Hardy in the Venom universe, it looks like Venom 2 was the last we’ll see of Anne.

For more symbiosis, check out everything we know about Spider-Man’s being in Venom 3, plus the potential MCU future of Venom villain Knull. Or head here for our list of the best superhero movies of all time.