Warning: This article contains spoilers for Venom: The Last Dance

The fact that Knull barely features throughout Sony's live-action release slate looks decidedly bare in 2025.

Venom: The Last Dance debuts one of the most consequential and formidable Marvel villains since Thanos in the MCU's Infinity Saga. The eldritch god of darkness is an unfathomably powerful figure responsible for creating symbiotes out of a "living abyss" in Marvel Comics and for one of the franchise's most cataclysmic comic book runs in the form of The King in Black. His appearance in Venom: The Last Dance was certainly cataclysmic, but questionably minimal - though this is seemingly for good reason.

What The Venom 3 Director Has Said About Knull's Role

Kelly Marcel Wrote And Directed Venom: The Last Dance

Venom: The Last Dance was Kelly Marcel's directorial debut after penning the screenplay for Venom and the story for Venom: Let There Be Carnage alongside Tom Hardy. Marcel also co-wrote the story and screenplay for the threequel, making Venom: The Last Dance the project in which she was most intimately involved. Given Knull's monumental impact in Marvel Comics, being so closely tied to his live-action debut must have been daunting. It's safe to say that the gravitas was not lost on Marcel, however, as she affirmed at this year's New York Comic-Con:

This is just the introduction to Knull. Obviously, he's a massive character, so you could never do one and done with him, so this is just a taste of Knull, you will get to meet him and then what the future holds for him; who knows.

These comments came before Venom: The Last Dance was released, assuaging concerns that the godlike being would have been woefully underserved in the space of just one movie. She also confirmed in these comments that Venom: The Last Dance would contain "Just a taste" of the character, forewarning audiences about his minimal involvement. The question of what the future holds for the terrifying arch-villain, meanwhile, remains pertinent - but it's safe to say that Sony's approach is so far mirroring the MCU.

Sony's Marvel Universe Is Teasing Knull Like The MCU Did Thanos

Venom: The Last Dance Is Replete With Parallels

Thanos' MCU debut came in the post-credits scene for 2012's The Avengers, where his CGI-rendered face turned to the viewer as his prolonged involvement within the MCU was heavily implied. While a similar shot occurs in the mid-credits scene for Venom: The Last Dance, Knull's debut was a little more involved in the movie's main events, though still relatively restrained. In this regard, Knull's debut more accurately mirrors Thanos' second MCU appearance in 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy.

Both Thanos and Knull are also depicted sitting on isolated thrones in their earliest appearances.

Guardians of the Galaxy saw Thanos looming as a far greater threat than Ronan the Acc as he pulled the strings from behind the scenes. Yet Ronan is still seen as the arch-villain of Guardians of the Galaxy, with the same being true of the Xenophages in Venom: The Last Dance. In both movies, the protagonists are always aware of the looming background threat but only face lackeys, while the more powerful figure consolidates dread by continuing to take a backseat until some unspecified future event.

When Knull Could Return In Sony's Spider-Man Universe

It Is Difficult To Predict Where Knull Might Reappear Without A Confirmed Release Slate

As Marcel confirmed, Knull survives the events of Venom: The Last Dance and even threatens his return in the mid-credits scene. Yet the ending of Venom: The Last Dance certainly complicates predicting where that might be, as this particular arch-villain is most closely tied to Venom in Marvel Comics. This prediction is further muddied by the fact that other characters most closely tied to Knull, including Thor, the Silver Surfer, and the Avengers, fall under the direct purview of Marvel Studios.

Furthermore, Kraven the Hunter is the only confirmed Sony project with a release date, and it's difficult to picture how the distinctly cosmic Knull would slot into Sergei Kravinoff's more grounded origin story. Given Sony has done little to weave its cinematic universe together so far, Kraven the Hunter may be about to buck the trend with a post-credits sequence featuring Knull. This would also follow the MCU's formula with Thanos as the Mad Titan reappeared immediately after Guardians of the Galaxy in the post-credits scene for Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Story details for Spider-Man 4 are forthcoming, but Venom: The Last Dance confirmed that a piece of Venom's symbiote remains in the MCU's Earth-616, further tying Sony's and Marvel's cinematic universes together and potentially foreshadowing Venom variant for Knull to pursue.

Another possibility is that Knull will reappear in the MCU's Spider-Man 4. Story details for Spider-Man 4 are forthcoming, but Venom: The Last Dance confirmed that a piece of Venom's symbiote remains in the MCU's Earth-616, further tying Sony's and Marvel's cinematic universes together and potentially foreshadowing Venom variant for Knull to pursue. Whatever the case, Sony might be able to shed light on the situation if and when the studio decides to announce further movies after Kraven the Hunter.

Sony's Marvel Movie Release Dates