Venom 2 story will feature heavy input from Tom Hardy

Mere days after fans learned that Andy Serkis, motion-capture expert and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle helmer, would take over directorial duties for Venom 2, the writing process for the Sony superhero sequel has had an equal amount of light shed upon it. Where does Eddie Brock go next? That's partially up to Eddie Brock himself. Where Serkis will replace the first film's Ruben Fleischer, returning screenwriter Kelly Marcel will be joined — it seems — by star Tom Hardy in crafting the story.

According to Slashfilm, Serkis spoke about the film during the TCA press conference for FX’s miniseries A Christmas Carol only a few days after being outed as the director of the new Symbiote sequel. While things seem to be in "the beginning stages," as Serkis puts it, he was quick to hammer home how much power Hardy has been given in terms of script. “Tom is very involved with the writing with Kelly Marcel of the new story, so it’s very much centered around their take,” Serkis said. Hardy, who is under a three-movie deal to play Venom, had previously expressed disappointment that some of his favorite scenes had been cut from the first film. Now it looks like the movie will have more of what Hardy loves baked into the screenplay itself.

Serkis went on to explain that his directorial philosophy plays into this as well. “As much as anything," Serkis said, "directing is about creating an atmosphere of people not being afraid to step forward with their very best work.” Perhaps that means more of the dark comedy Hardy loved about the first film; perhaps it means shaping the arc of Eddie Brock in a way that fits in with Hardy's wet-and-wild acting style. No matter how it shakes out, Serkis seems ready to let his star let loose.

“I’ve known Tom for many years and always admired him hugely as an actor and producer,” Serkis said. “We’ve always wanted to work together directly. I’m deeply excited to work with Tom Hardy and to work with all the great actors who are involved in it. It’s a fantastic franchise. I’m really honored to have been asked to direct it and it feels like it’s a very contemporary story. I think it’s going to be hopefully an extraordinary piece of cinema.”

Venom 2 does not yet have a release date.