How Venom 3's Knull Is Released From His Prison In The Marvel Comics

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Venom: The Last DanceVenom: The Last Dance debuts the major Marvel villain Knull the Symbiote God, though he's still trapped in his cosmic prison. Overall, the origins of this new live-action version of "The King in Black" mirror those of the original comics quite well. However, it will be fascinating to see how Knul will eventually escape his prison, considering how it happens on the page.

By Venom: The Last Dance's ending, Knull the Symbiote God (Andy Serkis) is still imprisoned as his symbiote-hunting Xenophages could not claim Venom and Eddie Brock's codex. However, that doesn't mean that the King in Black couldn't still be freed in the future, just as he was in the original comics leading up to the major King in Black crossover event in 2020. Here's how Knull the Symbiote God was freed in the comics, and what his future might entail on-screen.

Venom 3 Adapts Knull's Imprisonment Storyline Very Closely

As seen in the very beginning of Venom: The Last Dance, Knull himself confirms that he was the cosmic being who created the symbiotes. However, Knull the Symbiote God is eventually betrayed by his own creations, trapped within the world known as Kylntar. It's also revealed that Knull has legions of symbiote-hunting Xenophages under his command, ordering them to bring him a codex so he can finally be freed and drown all existence in an abyss of total darkness.

This is very similar to Knull's origins in the comics. Existing in the primordial darkness before the universe was "invaded" by light and the Celestials who filled the universe with life, Knull refuses the job given to him by the Celestials to be their "King in Black". Additionally, Knull's symbiotes did betray and lock him away on Klyntar (their word for "cage"). Furthermore, a collection of multiple codices resulted in Knull's freedom in the comics, rather than just a single one as seen in Venom: The Last Dance. Also, the Xenophages aren't connected to Knull in the comics either.

Carnage Frees Knull From His Prison In Marvel Comics

In the comics, it was Cletus Kasady's Carnage who was instrumental in bringing about Knull's freedom. As seen in the 2019 crossover event Absolute Carnage, Kasady began hunting other symbiotes and their hosts, ripping out and collecting their codices and adding them to the symbiote hive mind, which in turn made Knull's prison weaker. Carnage also manipulates Venom into helping, effectively forcing his hand to either choose between saving his son Dylan and freeing Knull as a result, or letting his son die (which could have also freed Knull).

Either way, Carnage was going to win, especially after Venom chose to save Dylan by killing Carnage. This added all the collected codices to the hive mind, immediately freeing Knull on Klyntar. Keeping that in mind, Absolute Carnage was a key prelude to 2020's King in Black crossover when Knull invades Earth with his symbiote-dragon hordes.

In the comics, a codex is a part of a symbiote that remains within the spine of its hosts, retaining information and memories that can be added to the greater symbiote hive mind. The Last Dance simplifies this idea with only one codex, forming when a symbiote revives its host, in this case when Venom saved Eddie from Riot's stabbing in the first Venom movie. It's an effective merging of their life forces and the key to freeing Knull. Additionally, the Xenophages take the place of Carnage and work to free the King in Black, as Woody Harrelson's Carnage died in the previous Venom sequel.

Knull Now Won't Be Freed In Sony's Spider-Man Universe

It would have been very exciting to see who might have ended up freeing Knull in the future of Sony's Spider-Man universe. After all, Venom: The Last Dance's post-credits certainly implied that the King in Black's freedom was inevitable.

However, Sony's Spider-Man Universe is effectively dead at present, with development on all future movies having been halted after the release of Kraven the Hunter at the end of 2024. Since then, Sony's focus has been on the MCU Spider-Man franchise with Tom Holland, like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, the recent live-action Spider-Noir series starring Nicolas Cage set in its own universe, and the highly anticipated Beyond the Spider-Verse animated film set to release in 2027.

That said, it's still fun to imagine what the future might have held for Venom and the imminent threat of Knull in the SSU. After all, it was heavily teased that the Venom symbiote was still alive and would one day reunite with Eddie. Additionally, it felt like Juno Temple's Doctor Payne and her new symbiote partner Agony could have been an intriguing possibility, as they also survived the battle at Area 55.

Will Knull Appear In The MCU?

Although the SSU may no longer exist, it's technically possible that Knull could be released in the MCU one day, especially if Tom Holland's Spider-Man receives his own symbiote saga with Venom. Although Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock and Venom did visit the MCU as seen at the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, they were sent back to their own reality before they had the chance to interact with Spider-Man, a tragic missed opportunity many fans would like to see corrected by Marvel Studios and Sony one day. As such, the MCU could logically keep Venom and Knull's story alive.

It's fun to imagine Spider-Man and more MCU heroes being involved in a future crossover storyline inspired by King in Black. Perhaps Peter Parker inadvertently frees Knull, assuming Spider-Man ends up getting his own symbiote and codex at some point. After all, there's arguably still a piece of Venom in the MCU. Either way, here's hoping Venom: The Last Dance isn't the last audiences have seen from this live-action version of Knull, a major Marvel villain who deserves so much more than an unfulfilled extended cameo.

Venom: The Last Dance is now playing in theaters.