Tom Hardy recently sat down with the Discourse Podcast from the Playlist to reflect on his time playing Venom. During the conversation, he revealed that a cross-over between his character and Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, was very close to happening. According to Hardy, the process of bringing the two characters together “got as close as I could possibly imagine getting.”

Hardy expressed his enthusiasm for the potential cross-over, stating that it would have been a fun experience. He said, “Apart from doing a film together, which I would have loved to have done because that just means so much fun.” Unfortunately, the cross-over ultimately did not happen, and Hardy’s Venom never met Holland’s Spider-Man.

The host of the Discourse Podcast, Mike DeAngelo, suggested that studio politics might have been the reason for the cross-over not happening. Hardy carefully acknowledged the speculation, saying “for all the reasons that you explained ultimately in there.” Hardy’s motivation for wanting to make the cross-over happen was rooted in his desire to please the fans, particularly children. He explained, “Fundamentally, for me, it would be for the kids.”

Hardy believes that children are often disappointed when their favorite characters are not featured together in films. He said, “Because, you know, as much as adults love superhero films, as you can tell by the box office when they’re successful, I think I’m constantly reminded by children how important these characters are. And they don’t know why their favorite characters aren’t in films together.” Despite the cross-over not happening, Hardy is grateful to have had the opportunity to play Venom and is happy with the films they made.

Regarding the global reception of Venom, Hardy is content with the modest success the films achieved. He said, “We did what we could and what we loved doing. We poured all of ourselves into it within the limits of what we were allowed to do with him.” Hardy reflected on the experience, saying, “And so the enjoyment of the work outweighed the limits of our possibilities with him because we just focused on what we were allowed to do. And we loved doing it.”

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