If you heard the name Andy Serkis tied to the development of VENOM 2, you’d likely assume that the industry veteran would use his motion-capture skills to bring a symbiote hero or villain to life on the big screen. And he still may. But for the time being, Serkis is joining the team for the planned VENOM sequel … as the movie’s director!

The Hollywood Reporter broke the story that Sony has tapped Andy Serkis to helm the next installment in the VENOM series, taking over for director Ruben Fleischer, who helmed the first movie back in 2018. The trade paper notes that Serkis’ experience with mo-cap and CGI made him the right choice for Sony to take over the sequel, which likely will hit theatres in October of 2020.

Andy Serkis has been wowing audiences over the past several years with his motion-capture creations, from Gollum in THE LORD OF THE RINGS films to Caesar, the leader in the recent PLANET OF THE APES movies.

But he’s also been proving his talents as a director, having helmed the emotional drama BREATHE with Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy before tackling the live-action MOWGLI: LEGEND OF THE JUNGLE for Netflix and Warner Bros. He hasn’t helmed a tentpole superhero blockbuster yet, but he has plenty of experience appearing in them, even playing the evil Klaw in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON and the massive hit BLACK PANTHER at Marvel Studios.

Shortly after landing the VENOM 2 gig, Andy Serkis posted this message on Instagram, asking his leading actor, Tom Hardy, if he’s ready for the ride:

The original VENOM ended on a tease for a very popular Marvel villain, Carnage, to make an appearance. And in that tease, Carnage would have been played by Woody Harrelson. No word yet on if the ZOMBIELAND 2 co-star also has signed on to appear in VENOM 2, but now that the sequel has a director, we can expect development to come from Sony on the regular.

Venom isn’t the only villain with a movie coming to theatres. Later this year, Joaquin Phoenix will bring his unique spin on JOKER to your local AMC. See? Good guys don’t get all of the fun. For more details on VENOM 2 and more comic book blockbusters, keep it right here on the AMC Scene.