'Venom 2' Gets A Second Villain With Shriek, Carnage's Longtime Love Interest

You can't wreak carnage without a little Shriek. Quite literally in the case of the Venom sequel, which has just added a second villain to join Woody Harrelson's bewigged Carnage. The end credits of Sony's surprise 2018 hit Venom heavily pointed to Carnage as the main Venom 2 villain, but reports have emerged that Carnage will be joined by his frequent comic book partner in crime (and in love), Shriek.

Deadline reports that Shriek will be joining Carnage as one of the villains in the Venom sequel set to hit theaters in 2020. Though a Sony spokesman declined to comment, the casting process for Shriek is reportedly underway, with the field of candidates expanding as filmmakers are "looking mostly at unknowns right now."

Shriek has been frequently paired with Carnage, who is the presumptive main villain for Venom 2 since a mid-credits scene featured Woody Harrelson in an uncredited role (and a very bad wig) as Cletus Kasaday, a serial killer who merges with an alien symbiote and becomes Venom's greatest archenemy. Since Shriek's introduction in Spider-Man Unlimited No. 1 in 1993, Shriek has become Carnage's closest accomplice and love interest, with the two frequently topping the lists of most twisted supervillain couples. She played a major role in the events of the Maximum Carnage arc, in which she allied with Carnage and several other supervillains to go on a killing spree in New York.

In the comics, Shriek is a former drug dealer named Frances Barrison who becomes a supervillain after a severe trauma awakens her latent mutant powers. She has the power of sonic energy blasts, flight, and an ability to bring out dark and violent emotions in others.

The yet-untitled Venom 2 won't begin principle photography until next year, but we know it will be directed by Andy Serkis. Tom Hardy is confirmed to return as the antihero Venom in the sequel set to hit theaters on October 2, 2020.