How Knull Could Connect Venom to Thor and the MCU

The inclusion of Knull in Venom: The Last Dance has some repercussions for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The third chapter in Sony Pictures’ Venom franchise hasn’t officially said who its big villain is, but there was a menacing figure who certainly looked like Knull in the last trailer for Venom: The Last Dance. Knull is a semi-recent addition to the Marvel Universe, but he has a backstory that dates back to its early beginnings while also tying to some recognizable heroes. If Knull really is in Venom: The Last Dance, then it could open the floodgates to even more synergy between Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the MCU.

Knull debuted in 2018’s Venom #4 as the main villain Ryan Stegman and Donny Cates were building up to in their relaunch of the series. Called the “King in Black,” Knull loomed in the background before fully making his presence known, culminating in the King in Black event series that concluded with Eddie Brock and Venom defeating Knull and taking on the King in Black moniker. One of the heroes to fight alongside Venom in King in Black was Thor, the God of Thunder. Many fans may not realize it, but Thor also has a history with Knull and one of the weapons he helped forge.

Knull’s connection to Thor explained

Writer Jason Aaron began his celebrated run on Thor by introducing Gorr the God Butcher, the primary villain in Thor: Love and Thunder. While Thor had Mjolnir by his side, Gorr brandished All-Black the Necrosword, a blade made of living darkness that flowed and behaved very similar to a symbiote. Gorr and the Necrosword appeared to be one and the same, but it became clear later on that the Necrosword corrupted Gorr, partly responsible for sending him down the evil path of wanting to murder all of the living gods.

Remember how we said that the Necrosword had some of the same qualities as a symbiote? The reason for this is because the Necrosword is a symbiote. The story behind that is Donny Cates, co-creator of Knull, was a big fan of what Jason Aaron was doing with Thor. So when it came time to explore Knull’s origin, he found a creative way to tie it to the God of Thunder. Knull created All-Black the Necrosword to sever the head of a Celestial, which ultimately became Knowhere from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. So not only was Thor up against Gorr, but he also had to contend with his living symbiote sword.

The Necrosword has also made an appearance in the MCU, though not with Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher. When Cate Blanchett played Hela in Thor: Ragnarok, her primary weapon of choice was Necroswords. It remains to be seen if Knull will bring a Necrosword with him in Venom: The Last Dance.

Will Knull show up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe is still waiting to catch up to the popularity of the MCU. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has yet to appear in any of the Venom movies, Morbius, or even Madame Web. Sony has decided to build its connected universe with Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, focusing on the web-slinger’s enemies. However, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been a little bit of cross synergy between the two studios.

For example, Michael Keaton’s Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming made a cameo appearance in Morbius, as they plotted a potential team-up against Spider-Man. Also, the post-credits scenes in Venom: Let There Be Carnage transported Venom to the MCU just in time to see Peter Parker exposed as Spider-Man to the entire world in Spider-Man: Far From Home‘s post-credits scene. This was followed up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, with Venom sent back to his world and a piece of the Venom symbiote left behind in the MCU.

So while MCU fans may want to see a showdown between Thor and Knull, the likelihood of that happening remains slim for now. You would think Sony wants to incorporate Spider-Man into its universe first before worrying about how Knull fits into the MCU. We have to see Spider-Man vs. Venom before we worry about the larger crossover implications.

What is Venom: The Last Dance about?

In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie’s last dance.

Directed by Kelly Marcel, Venom: The Last Dance opens in theaters on October 25th.