We’ve all become increasingly accustomed to comic book blockbusters running for at least two hours, something that’s either completely necessary or a self-indulgent exercise in stretching things out. Looking at two recent examples; there was absolutely no need for Wonder Woman 1984 to go on for 151 minutes, while Avengers: Endgame completely justified its three-hour length to tie up eleven years of storytelling in the space of one movie.
Ruben Fleischer’s Venom ran for 112 minutes, which is positively thrifty by the standards of the genre, but a new report claims that sequel Let There Be Carnage is going to fly by in no time at all. According to Fandango, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is going to be done and dusted in 90 minutes, and when you factor in credits and a presumed stinger right before things fade to black, you can realistically knock off another dozen.
While it hasn’t been officially confirmed by Sony as yet, 80 or so minutes by the time the end titles come up is awfully brief, especially for a long-awaited second installment that’s introducing a fan-favorite character in Woody Harrelson’s Carnage, with Naomie Harris’ Shriek and very possibly Stephen Graham’s Toxin set to factor into the story.
Of course, we can’t complain about modern superhero cinema dragging its heels only to moan when there’s a 90-minute film on the way, but it’s certainly a curious development. Let’s hope that Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis has been lean and mean in the editing suite, as opposed to Sony wielding the scissors as they’ve been known to do.
