The film opens with Knull, the god of the void and creator of the symbiotes, imprisoned by his own creations after light invaded his kingdom. He sends his Xenophages — giant, teleporting predators — across the universe to hunt down the Codex, a life force key that can free him. When Eddie Brock and Venom are pulled back to Earth-688 from Earth-616 after Doctor Strange’s spell, they wake up drunk in a Mexico bar. Venom learns they’re now wanted for the murder of Detective Patrick Mulligan, making them fugitives everywhere.
Eddie and Venom decide to head to New York to clear Eddie’s name, but they’re hunted on two fronts. The US government, led by soldier Rex Strickland at the soon-to-be-decommissioned Area 51/ Area 55, wants to capture and study symbiotes. At the same time, a Xenophage is tracking them for Knull because the Codex was created when Venom saved Eddie’s life in the first film. Venom spots a Xenophage while clinging to an airplane mid-flight, and the creature forces them to crash in the desert.
On the run, Eddie and Venom encounter a family of UFO-obsessed hippies led by Martin Moon, get help from old friend Mrs. Chen, and are eventually captured and taken to Area 55. There, scientist Dr. Teddy Paine studies multiple alien life forms, including other symbiotes. Strickland and Paine realize the Codex is inside Eddie/Venom, and that if a Xenophage retrieves it for Knull, the entire universe is in danger. When Knull’s Xenophages breach the underground base, the military, the scientists, and Venom/Eddie join forces to fight them off.
In the climax, Eddie and Venom learn that the only way to destroy the Codex — and keep Knull imprisoned — is for one of them to die. With the net closing in from both worlds, the duo make a devastating decision. Venom sacrifices himself, bonding with the Xenophages and taking them into an acid bath to destroy the Codex and save Eddie. The film ends with Eddie mourning Venom, the symbiote seemingly dead, and the threat of Knull still looming in a post-credits tease.
Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom: The Last Dance is billed as the final film in Tom Hardy’s trilogy. It runs 1h 49m and was released October 25, 2024, with a tone described as a “short and snappy final installment” that focuses on Eddie and Venom’s bromance amid a “scattershot” plot involving Area 51, Xenophages, and Knull’s plan to destroy all worlds.