‘Venom’: Ruben Fleischer Reflects On “Disheartening” Critical Backlash

The success of the “Venom” franchise is hard to deny as the first two installments have earned a combined $1.3 billion at the global box office. This has emboldened Sony to continue to pump out more live-action “Spider-Man” spinoffs with “Venom 3,” “Kraven The Hunter,” “Madame Web,” and the next release, “Morbius,” set to be released in early April. However, not everyone has been thrilled with the “Venom” movies as the original pic wasn’t exactly seen as a quality superhero flick by critics and the film’s director is giving his impressions on the backlash.

“Venom” director Ruben Fleischer (“Uncharted“) recently spoke to the Phase Zero podcast and gave his honest reactions to the film’s backlash, despite becoming a huge hit for Sony Pictures. While seemingly a crowd-pleaser the anti-hero flick didn’t land well with critics.

READ MORE: Tom Hardy Admits “Critics Hated” The First ‘Venom’ But He Still Read The Reviews: “I Just Like To Know”

“The critical reaction, I’m not going to lie, is a bummer just because you work so hard on something,” Fleischer said. “And I know, having watched it with audiences, how much they enjoyed it. So, it was a little surprising to me how negative they were. And I do think it’s unwarranted because the audiences, as you said, really loved the film. Otherwise, I don’t think it would’ve been quite the success it was. So, it was disheartening, for sure, that it has this kind of association.”

Fleischer continued by stating he’s simply happy audiences liked the film, “It’s just unfortunate that Rotten Tomatoes exists as this aggregate that then, forever, will have an assigned rating to a thing. That being said, it is what it is. And if people like the movie, that’s all I care about. And, hopefully, the same will be true of Uncharted. I made it for the audience. I made it to be a really fun, escapist, action-packed adventure. And, at the end of the day, that’s who I made the movie for. And I’ll be proud and excited if fans and audiences love the film.”

The latest film, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” had teased a potential crossover between Venom and Spider-Man, but it’s unclear when that exactly happens as actor Tom Holland hasn’t been formally announced to star in either “Venom 3” or “Spider-Man 4” since a new contract still needs to be ironed out. Holland has suggested wanting to take a break after wrapping up a trilogy and his contract with the billion-dollar hit, “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”

READ MORE: Tom Hardy Says ‘Venom’ Franchise Has To “Establish Ourselves” Before A ‘Spider-Man’ Crossover Can Happen

While the developing “Venom 3” doesn’t have a director, the box office success of “Uncharted” would suggest that Fleischer may be asked to direct a sequel. It’ll be interesting to see if Andy Serkis returns to helm or if the studio decides on a different filmmaker entirely.