Is Norman Reedus Aunt May In Venom 3? A Wild Marvel Casting Report, Explained
Long before the recent box office bomb "Madame Web" and the cinematic laughing stock that is "Morbius" arrived as part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe — a separate entity from the Marvel Cinematic Universe — there was "Venom" and its sequel, "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." The 2018 and 2021 features are far from critical favorites, but they each performed decent enough at the box office to allow the SSU to grow beyond Eddie Brock and his symbiote friend, Venom, both played by Tom Hardy. Additionally, they've done well enough to pave the way for a third cinematic adventure, reportedly featuring "The Walking Dead" favorite Norman Reedus as ... Aunt May?
As the "Venom 3" cast stands at the time of publication, Reedus is not officially set to appear in the film, much less as Peter Parker's loving aunt. So, where did this online rumor spawn from? As seen in this post by @HollywoodHandle on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Google search engine accidentally listed Reedus as May under the "Venom 3" cast. It appears that this hilarious speculation-spawning error has since been rectified, as looking up the "Venom 3" cast on Google no longer brings up the actor's name.
So, with this odd rumor debunked, who can Marvel fans actually expect to see in "Venom 3"?
Who has actually been confirmed for Venom 3 so far?
Unlike Norman Reedus, a handful of notable names have officially been confirmed for the "Venom 3" cast. First and foremost is Tom Hardy, who has played both Eddie Brock and Venom since the franchise's first film, as well as in the MCU-changing "Spider-Man: No Way Home" post-credits scene. The actor has hinted that the end of the "Venom" trilogy will also wrap up his run with the character, as he referred to the third film as "the last dance" in an Instagram post. With that in mind, it'll be interesting to see what the upcoming feature has in store for Eddie and Venom.
Aside from Hardy, a few franchise newcomers have reportedly signed on the dotted line to appear. First and foremost is Juno Temple of "Ted Lasso" and "Fargo" fame, who has been cast in a currently undisclosed lead role. Alongside her is seasoned Marvel star Chiwetel Ejiofor, known to comic book movie fans as Baron Karl Mordo from the "Doctor Strange" franchise. "Letterkenny" and "Designated Survivor" star Clark Backo is also slated to appear. So far, Ejiofor and Backo's roles in the film have yet to be revealed.
We'll have to see what these actors will be up to — and if Norman Reedus will somehow appear in any capacity — as "Venom 3" inches closer to its November 8, 2024, release date.