While critically panned, Venom was a big box office hit

In spite of negative reviews, Venom made over $855 million worldwide last year. It was the fifth highest grossing movie of 2018.

According to reports, Sony Pictures has tapped Kelly Marcel to pen the script. Marcel was one of the screenwriters from the first movie. She will also executive produce the follow-up, having produced the first 'Venom.'

The superhero movie starred Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a journalist who acquires the powers of a symbiote. Initially resistant to the alien presence in his body, Brock comes to embrace the alter-ego.

In a mid-credits scene at the end of Venom, Brock meets a serial killer played by Woody Harrelson. His character, Cletus Kasady, promises Brock that when he gets out, "it's gonna be... carnage". This gestures towards Kasady's alter-ego Carnage, a major villain who Venom and Spider-Man team up against in the comic-book series. Presumably, the Venom sequel will kick off things with this antagonist.

Michelle Williams is likely to rejoin Hardy in the sequel. She plays Anne Weying, a district attorney and Brock ex-fiancee.

Interestingly, a new director may have to be sourced. The first Venom's director, Reuben Fleischer, will probably be too busy shooting the sequel to Zombieland to commit to Venom 2.

The Venom sequel is believed to hit cinemas on October 2nd, 2020.