Venom: Let There Be Carnage release date delayed for Delta variant

Fans of Sony's take on Venom have been waiting quite some time for the next film in the franchise, dubbed Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Unfortunately, the film has been delayed several times thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, and even though it looked like it would finally release at the end of September, today we got word that the wait will be extended by a few weeks. Yes, Sony has decided to delay the release of Venom: Let There Be Carnage yet another time, and once again, the pandemic is to blame for this decision.

More specifically, the Delta variant and the fact that it's spreading at a rapid pace seems to be driving Sony's decision here. Thankfully, the delay isn't a big one, with Variety reporting that the movie will now premiere on October 15th – three weeks after its previous release date of September 24th. Variety notes that the spread of the Delta variant has chipped away at consumer comfort in going to the movies.

Venom fans have likely become acclimated to delays by now. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was originally supposed to premiere on October 2nd, 2020, though that release date was pushed back to June 25th, 2021, after it became clear how widespread the COVID-19 pandemic was. Sony then pushed the movie back to September 17th, 2021, then delayed it once more by a week to September 24th.

This delay to October 15th is the fourth delay we've seen for Venom: Let There Be Carnage. One has to wonder if three weeks is enough time for new COVID-19 cases worldwide to drop to levels that Sony is comfortable with, and after four delays, we're definitely not ready to assume this will be the last one.

As the movie's title reveals, Venom will be going toe-to-toe with Carnage in this film, a supervillain who was introduced in the early 1990s and was so powerful that he prompted Spider-Man and Venom to work together. Carnage and Venom have consistently been fan-favorite characters since their introductions, so this face-off on the silver screen should be worth checking out – eventually.