‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ Almost Had A Very Different Title
Venom: Let There Be Carnage crash-landed into theaters at the beginning of October. The bloody, violent follow-up to 2018’s Venom sees Tom Hardy returning as Eddie Brock, host to the alien symbiote of the title. In Let There Be Carnage, Eddie must put aside his differences with Venom to put an end to serial killer and alien host Cletus Kasady, who transforms into the deadly Carnage. While the movie’s title is clear, concise, and to the point, there was apparently another name that was considered. And it’s actually really good.
Speaking with Collider, director Andy Serkis discussed the other title possibilities for the film. One idea was actually inspired by British goth music. “We did think for a moment it might be called Love Will Tear Us Apart, that was a going concern for a little while,” explained Serkis. “But Let There Be Carnage just seems to do it. There wasn’t a lot of fighting over the other titles we were thinking of. Because this was such a strong contender.”
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” is, of course, the title of a song by British gothic rock band Joy Division. If that ended up being the title, there’s a lot the creative team could do with it. While it would have cost a good deal of money to acquire the rights to the song, it would have been cool if Venom 2 incorporated it in promotion for the movie. We know how much audiences love slowed down covers of sad pop songs in movie trailers. Not to mention, if the movie were titled Love Will Tear Us Apart, it might have even attracted a whole new demographic of viewers — Joy Division fans. There are undoubtedly hardcore music fans who would go see the gory action flick just for the title alone.
Still, Let There Be Carnage manages to get the point across in a direct way, incorporating a dash of wordplay with the word “carnage.” Audiences didn’t seem to mind it either, with the movie scoring the biggest domestic opening weekend of the pandemic to date.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage is in theaters now.