Knull Creators Had No Idea Their Villain Would be in Venom 3, And Now They're Asking to be Paid

Venom: The Last Dance debuted a new trailer on Thursday, and one of its key characters was Knull — the eldritch god of darkness who created the alien symbiotes. Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, two of the creators who helped bring Knull to life, were among those taken offguard by his inclusion, and immediately took to X/Twitter to express their surprise.

Yes, I did co-create knull. No, I didn’t know until today that he was gonna be in Venom: The Last Dance. Yes, I do expect to finally be able to afford that lazy river moat around my house— Ryan "x-men man" $tegman (@RyanStegman) September 12, 2024

"Yes, I did co-create knull. No, I didn’t know until today that he was gonna be in Venom: The Last Dance," wrote Stegman, who penciled Venom Vol. 4 #3 where Knull made his official debut. "Yes, I do expect to finally be able to afford that lazy river moat around my house."

lol pic.twitter.com/VLKtdhmG9N— DONNY CATES (@Doncates) September 12, 2024

Donny Cates, who wrote the comic, tweeted an image saying "MONEY" with caption, "lol." IGN has reached out separately to Cates and Sony for comment. While it's ultimately up to individual publishers and their contract terms on whether they will receive money, Marvel has a mixed track record of compensating comics creators for their characters. Jim Starlin is among those who fought bitterly with Marvel over compensation for the use of Thanos in the Avengers movies. It's unclear whether those terms will be different with Sony involved.

Knull makes his cinematic debut

Knull's introduction was part of a new trailer showcasing Venom: The Last Dance ahead of its October release. We wrote in our Knull explainer, "Marvel’s 2018 Venom comic (written by Donny Cates and drawn primarily by Ryan Stegman) dramatically overhauled the mythology of the symbiotes by introducing Knull, their god and creator.

"As that series revealed, Knull is one of the oldest lifeforms in the Marvel Universe, existing in a time when everything was bathed in shadow and silence. But as light began creeping into the universe and the Celestials began their process of seeding life, Knull took this as a personal affront. He forged the very first symbiote in the form of a weapon, All-Black the Necrosword, and began killing the Celestials in retaliation."

The rest of the film will star Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock as he and the symbiote go on the run, "hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in." Both of the previous Venom films received mixed reviews, but earned a cult audience thanks to their campier elements.

Venom: The Last Dance will be out October 25.

Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.