A recent teaser, now deleted from public view, which first aired on Russian television, seems to suggest a classic Marvel character from the 1990s will make an appearance in Venom: The Last Dance. A screenshot from the teaser before the footage was taken down revealed a luminous green symbiote recognised as Lasher (via Marvel Updates).
The character was first introduced in 1993, as part of Venom: Lethal Protector, and is associated with five other symbiotes designed by the Life Foundation. The first host for Lasher, Rámon Hernández, was a volunteer for the Life Foundation. Despite his apparent death, Lasher and Hernández survive and appear in Venom: Separation Anxiety (1994). Lasher is one of five symbiotes, along with Phage, Agony, Scream, and Riot.
However, a Marvel fan account on X (once Twitter), TheVenomSite, believes the villain we’re about to see is one from the previous film, Venom: Let There Be Carnage. “While it is green indicating Lasher, the dialogue is attached to Toxin’s,” the account reads. “So this is most likely Toxin.”
First look at Lasher in 'VENOM:THE LAST DANCE' pic.twitter.com/8C7wdj9fQy
— Marvel Updates (@marvel_updat3s) September 3, 2024
Toxin is the symbiote connected with Patrick Mulligan (played by Stephen Graham), a detective who encountered the symbiote following a near-fatal showdown with Cletus Kasady/Carnage and Shriek. In the recent trailer for Venom: The Last Dance, Mulligan is pictured with green eyes inside a glass cell. Notably, Toxin is red in the comics, implying some creative tweaks to the villain for this film.
According to an official synopsis from Columbia Pictures (via Variety), “Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.”
Venom: The Last Dance further stars Juno Temple, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Peggy Lu, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Alanna Ubach, and Cristo Fernández. Written and directed by Kelly Marcel, the threequel is scheduled to swing into cinemas on October 25, 2024.
