The Last Dance Director Confirms the Actor Playing Marvel Villain, Knull

After much rumor and speculation, it has now been confirmed which acclaimed actor plays the Marvel supervillain Knull in the latest Sony Spider-Man Universe movie, Venom: The Last Dance. As many had suspected, it is indeed Lord of the Rings star and Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis behind the pale skin and black eyes of the God of the Symbiotes, with both the character and actor expected to play a major role in the SSU going forward.

Speaking with THR, Venom 3 director Kelly Marcel confirmed (of course, the end credits of the movie also do that) that Serkis is Knull, with the filmmaker revealing what it was like to direct the director behind a previous Venom movie.

“(Laughs.) 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.”

Created by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, Knull is considered to be one of the most powerful villains in the world of Marvel and is an evil deity and the creator of the symbiotes. While Knull only makes a brief appearance in Venom: The Last Dance, the character has already been revealed to be a major player similar to the MCU’s Thanos, threatening the Sony Spider-Man Universe, and perhaps even bringing the cavalcade of antiheroes together, much like The Avengers. Does anyone want to see the likes of Morbius, Kraven, and Madame Web join forces? Reviews and box office suggest the answer is “no.”

Venom: The Last Dance Continues the Franchise’s ‘Rotten’ Streak

Sadly, despite another wonderfully warped Jekyll-and-Hyde performance from Tom Hardy and the inclusion of characters like Knull, Venom: The Last Dancecontinues the franchise’s rotten streak. The third outing is now at 38% on Rotten Tomatoes following 68 reviews, putting it alongside the first Venom’s 30% and Venom: Let There Be Carnage’s 57%. MovieWeb’s own Julian Roman found some enjoyment in the superhero road trip movie, but was also “fighting boredom” thanks to a poor narrative and drawn-out runtime.

“Venom: The Last Dance will have you laughing and cheering out loud while also fighting boredom in a strained narrative that feels much longer than its runtime. The third and supposedly final installment of the alien symbiote Spider-Man spin-off can best be described as a mixed bag of Halloween goodies. There’s a handful of plodding candy corn scenes for every delightful Snickers bar moment. Your level of Venom fandom will decide how much latitude to give the film.”

Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom: The Last Dance stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach and Stephen Graham, and finds Eddie and Venom on the run.