Sartaj Singh
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ fittingly transports us to Area 51, where a planetfall of symbiotes threatens to wreak havoc upon the Earth while its defenders, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Venom, are on the run. A sequel to ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ and based on the titular Marvel character, the final film in the trilogy picks up from its predecessor. It follows Eddie Brock and his parasitic partner as they are pursued by a secret government agency intent on capturing them and containing extraterrestrial threats. However, denizens of Venom’s homeworld arrive en masse in pursuit of their wayward kin. Directed by Kelly Marcel, the superhero action film is set against rolling desert landscapes, where the unwitting heroes make their last stand.
Venom: The Last Dance Filming Locations
Filming for ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. Additionally, many of the movie’s backdrops and action sequences were captured at sites in Spain, Los Angeles, New York, and England. Principal photography began under the working title ‘Orwell’ in June 2023 but was paused the next month due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming continued in November 2023 and was wrapped up by February 2024. Last-minute reshoots were carried out in August of the same year.
As filming resumed in November 2023, Tom Hardy appreciated all the cast and crew members, especially director Marcel and his stunt double Jacob Tomuri, reflecting on their long and exciting journey over the course of three films. “It’s been and continues to be a lot of fun this journey,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “There’s always hard turns to burn when we work but doesn’t feel as hard when you love what you do and when you know you have great material and the support at all sides, of a great team. Surrounded by talented and passionate departments and when surrounded by people you love and care about it doesn’t get any better.”
Murcia, Spain
Filming for ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ took place in the Murcia region of Spain, particularly around its coastal territories, including the city of Alicante. Within the port city of Cartagena, the production team shot sequences of Eddie walking through dusty, hovel-lined streets, where he eventually faces gangsters. In particular, these scenes were shot in the Los Mateos neighborhood of Cartagena, closer to the harbor and featuring arid, undulating terrain. The crew also traveled east of Cartagena to the Calblanque Regional Park or Parque Regional de Calblanque. The park boasts rocky coastal ridges, sandy beaches, and the Sierra Minera mountain range, providing the background of remote, isolated hills and valleys for the film.
Andalucía, Spain
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ was also filmed in Spain’s southernmost autonomous community, Andalucía. The team set up shop in the city of Almería, with the Alcazaba of Almería fortress looming overhead. Venturing north of the city, the production team taped many of the film’s desert sequences in the Tabernas Desert, which is known for its barren, almost otherworldly landscapes. The terrain provided the perfect backdrop for scenes where Eddie Brock and Venom evade pursuit in the vast wilderness.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas served as an important filming location for ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ with its vibrant cityscape seen in establishing shots. In these scenes, we can also spot the Paris Las Vegas resort with its half-scale Eiffel Tower replica. The hotel Eddie enters after appropriating a suit from a bystander is the Paris Hotel Casino, located at 3655 South Las Vegas Boulevard. The slot machines and interior arrangement were slightly altered for the film. The slot machine area also served as the filming site for Eddie meeting Mrs. Chen and Venom dancing with her. Additionally, filming was carried out at the UFC Office or UFC Performance Institute on 6650 South Torrey Pines Drive.
New York City, New York
Some filming for ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ was also done around the iconic streets of New York City. During reshoots in August 2024, Tom Hardy was spotted walking down a New York City sidewalk while an army of extras created an everyday pedestrian crowd. Hardy walked along a straight chalk line drawn on the ground, marking his path, while the camera team recorded his gait sitting at the end of the line.
Los Angeles, California
The beating heart of Hollywood, Los Angeles, served as a filming location for ‘Venom: The Last Dance,’ offering its cutting-edge filming infrastructure to help create the film’s action sequences and special effects. Interestingly, while the film involved incredible stunt work from the team, actress Juno Temple took up a challenge of her own: she learned how to drive. “We have people flying off mountains, landing on horses, swimming through rapids, and fighting alien creatures underwater, and I can’t drive,” revealed Temple in an interview. “The brilliant stunt team and head stunt coordinator—his name is Jim—he was very kind and very patient and taught me how to drive a vintage (Ford) Bronco with power steering.”
London, England
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ was filmed in and around London, which houses world-renowned studios with state-of-the-art technology required to bring the production to life. The river and underwater action scenes were actually filmed in a studio water tank. London and its studios have played a key role in creating the set pieces and special effects for Sony and Marvel productions like ‘Deadpool & Wolverine,’ ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage,’ ‘Ready Player One,’ and ‘Loki.’
