Venom 2 is ignoring Carnage's perfect tie-in to the MCU's Spider-Man. Sony's Spider-Man spinoffs have always had an uncertain relationship with the MCU's own Spider-Man movies. Back in 2017, Spider-Man: Homecoming producer Amy Pascal referred to the spinoffs as "adjuncts" to the MCU. It led to weeks of heated debate in fan communities over whether or not these films should be considered part of the wider MCU.

The answer to that question is still uncertain, although the evidence suggests Marvel and Sony have come to sort of an agreement. The Morbius trailer contained a Spider-Man reference and a Vulture cameo, which seemed to indicate it does indeed exist in the same universe as Tom Holland's Spider-Man and the Avengers. Curiously enough, though, Venom: Let There Be Carnage appears to be ignoring one potential link to the wall-crawler.

Related: How Venom 2 Can Make Carnage Into Venom's Son (Despite A Different Origin)

The Venom sequel will clearly see Tom Hardy's Venom go head-to-head against Woody Harrelson's Carnage, teased in Venom's post-credits scene. It seems to be drawing inspiration from 1993's Maximum Carnage event, a Spider-Man story that saw Carnage break out of jail and ally himself with a group of maniacs in order to cut a bloody swathe through New York City. The story was dark and brutal, with the crisis amplified by Carnage's ally Shriek, who possessed the power to manipulate the minds of others by releasing a supersonic frequency. This inspired others to violence, and soon riots blazed across the city, as the worst aspects of human nature were apparently on display. But, while Shriek was easily Carnage's most important ally, he was also assisted by the Doppelganger Spider.

Spider-Doppelganger and Spider-Man

Created in the six-issue miniseries called Infinity War, the Doppelganger Spider was an evil, near-mindless duplicate of the wall-crawler. It possessed all of Spider-Man's own powers, but twisted in a far more violent direction; for example, the Doppelganger Spider's webs are barbed, meaning you really don't want to be caught in a stream of its webbing. The creature is monstrous and inhuman, easily differentiated from Spider-Man because of its slavering jaws and six arms. It wasn't just thrown into Maximum Carnage on a whim, but rather to emphasize the idea that everyone's dark side had been unleashed by Carnage, as it symbolized a bloodthirsty version of Spider-Man himself.

Venom 2 is expected to introduce Naomie Harris as Shriek, but the Doppelganger Spider - another crucial member of Carnage's gang - is sadly absent. That's something of a shame, because it would be interesting to see that monster brought to life on the big screen, and its presence would help tie the spinoff into the MCU a little more closely - especially if the Doppelganger Spider was clearly a twisted version of Tom Holland's Spider-Man. Chalk this one up as a major missed opportunity for Sony.

More: Venom's Perfect MCU Spider-Man Set-Up Is Impossible (Because Of Iron Man)

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