Who Is The Voice of Venom?

Summary Tom Hardy's unique voice for Venom in both movies was a blend of influences like Redman and Busta Rhymes, creating a witty, clever, and powerful persona.

Hardy intentionally changed Venom's voice in the sequel to reflect the symbiote's development and showcase the lighter tone of the dynamic between Brock and Venom.

Keeping Tom Hardy as the voice of Venom in the MCU could be a strategic move to continue the character's presence in superhero movies for future developments with Spider-Man.

In Venom, Tom Hardy took on the role of Eddie Brock – the man under the symbiote – but who voices Venom in both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a question that has haunted audiences. In both movies, reporter Eddie Brock hears the alien Venom's voice in his head. The bickering couple dynamic of Brock and his living alien skin-suit is a franchise mainstay, and a source of the quippy humor modern audiences have come to expect from superhero movies, and a key part of why audiences are excited for Venom: The Last Dance's release.

Tom Hardy's performance as Eddie Brock has been widely praised as a highlight of the Sony Spider-Man Movie Universe. The energy and vocal shenanigans Hardy became known for through roles like Bane in The Dark Knight Rises and Alfie Solomons in Peaky Blinders were on full display, making it perhaps no surprise Hardy also voiced Venom in both the original movie and the Venom 2 cast. The voice of Venom in Let There Be Carnage, unlike Eddie Brock, was characterized by simpler dialogue — slower, lower-pitched, and throaty — which involved some considerable work from both Tom Hardy and others.

How Tom Hardy Built Venom's Alternate Voice

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Hardy was already famous for his quirky vocal decisions, but his inspiration for Venom's voice came from some unexpected sources even for him. In an interview with Screen Rant, Hardy outlined the numerous "ingredients" and inspirations as Venom's voice actor: "Redman, Busta Rhymes, and James Brown as ingredients and then I played with it to create the fusion of sort of what you hear, which sounds nothing like that, but initially was like a vibe or heartbeat that I wanted to bring to it. That kind of bombastic, playful, like dark, witty, clever, you know, honest, but with a power familiar friendly sound which is palatable."

That particular combination may not have been obvious from Hardy's Venom voiceover, but the result was nonetheless unique and effective. Hardy was assisted by a cocktail of practical effects during recording, and his voice was layered during post-production both with itself and that of the late Brad Venables in an uncredited role. This is partly why Venom's voice in Venom had such a low resonance and gargling nature. Tom Hardy's range is beyond impressive, but even he would struggle to create Venom's bassy growls with his unaltered vocal cords alone.

Why Did Tom Hardy’s Venom Voice Change For Venom 2?

As the Venom voice actor, Tom Hardy deliberately changed Venom's voice in Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage in order to reflect the symbiote's development throughout the Venom movie's overarching plot. Though as guttural as ever, Venom in the sequel spoke with a more upbeat lilt that lacked much of the previous menace.

Hardy wanted to better match the lighter tone and weirdness of the Eddie Brock-Venom dynamic, as well as highlight the evolution of Venom's character between Venom and Let There Be Carnage. The alien symbiote has spent a significant amount of time with Eddie. No longer the menacing xeno-horror he was when he arrived on Earth in Venom, the Venom of the sequel seems to have gained some humanity by osmosis. Venom is begrudgingly domesticated, and Hardy cleverly let this bleed into his performance.

Hardy's work as Brock and the voice of Venom undoubtedly strengthens the argument for why the MCU needs Venom. That said, on a practical level, further differences came from a more extensive post-production treatment and a shortage of diverse vocal layers due to Brad Venable's passing in 2021. Even with the slight shift in sound design between movies, Tom Hardy showed his amazing vocal range by constructing an instantly recognizable voice for Venom, whether it's the monstrous alien of Venom or the antihero Lethal Protector of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Venom's Voice Can Keep Tom Hardy In The MCU

Curiously, while Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is back in his own little corner of the Sonyverse, a slither of the Venom symbiote remains in the MCU - and if it's still voiced by Hardy, it could be a way to keep him in the MCU. What's more, it opens the doors for the MCU to cast a new Eddie Brock, distinguishing their Venom from Sony's.

In the wake of Morbius and Madame Web's lackluster reviews, moving Tom Hardy's Venom to the MCU after Venom: The Last Dance could prove the most effective way to keep Sony's live-action anti-hero a focal element of superhero movies.

Disney could even opt to do the Flash Thompson version of Venom, with Spider-Man MCU actor Toby Revolori, while still keeping Hardy on board for the voice of Venom in Flash's head. Including Tom Hardy in a Spider-Man movie, even just as the Venom voice, is a guaranteed ticket seller, and both Disney and Sony likely know this.

With the existence of symbiotes in the MCU, Marvel can even combine Tom Holland's Peter Parker and keep Hardy as the Venom voice actor to develop the definitive live-action version of Symbiote Spider-Man. The two-Tom combo of Holland as Peter Parker and Hardy as the Venom voice in his head would be a surefire crowd-pleaser and likely make for both incredibly dramatic and comedic moments (a necessary feat to follow up the incredibly successful Spider-Man: No Way Home).

As long-time comic book readers know, with Avengers: Secret Wars on the horizon, there's a real possibility that Marvel will surprise audiences with the MCU debut of Symbiote Spider-Man somewhere down the line. It would be a solid strategy to have Tom Hardy do the voice of Venom in the MCU once more after his Venom: Let There Be Carnage post-credits scene if this is the case.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available In this follow up to 2018's Venom, Tom Hardy returns as the lethal protector Venom, an alien symbiote bonded to Eddie Brock. When Eddie gets a chance to interview one of the most dangerous serial killers on Earth, Cletus Kasady, an altercation between Kasady and Brock. This leads to the former getting his own parasite, and his twisted perception of the world gives life to Carnage, a deadly symbiote hellbent on chaos and death. Brock and Venom will have to work together to stop Kasady and Carnage's murderous rampage. Director Andy Serkis Release Date October 1, 2021 Cast Woody Harrelson , Peggy Lu , Michelle Williams , Reid Scott , Laurence Spellman , Stephen Graham , Tom Hardy , Amber Sienna , Naomie Harris , Sean Delaney