There have been rumors swirling that Andy Serkis was on the verge of landing the Venom 2 director gig, and we might have just gotten confirmation. Quickly deleted confirmation, that is. Venom himself, Tom Hardy, posted a pic of Serkis on his Instagram last night – and then immediately took it down. Was this Hardy accidentally letting the symbiote out of the bag too soon? Or is he just a really big fan of Andy Serkis pictures?

Above you can see a screenshot of Tom Hardy’s Instagram account, featuring a not-so-cryptic pic of Andy Serkis. While Hardy didn’t include any text – just the fire emoji – the implication is clear: Serkis is directing Venom 2. Of course, until this is officially announced, this is all just speculation. But last week it was revealed that Rupert Wyatt, Travis Knight, and Serkis were all being considered to helm Venom 2. Based on the quickly-deleted Instagram post above, Serkis landed the job.

Unless he didn’t. Perhaps Hardy was just signaling the filmmaker he’d most like to work with. Perhaps he really enjoys this particular photo of Andy Serkis. I’m sure there are other possible scenarios you can think up here, but Occam’s razor dictates that Hardy was probably signaling Serkis was going to take on directorial duties. Hardy likely deleted the post because he didn’t realize he didn’t have the studio approval to reveal the news just yet.

The first Venom was an absolute mess, with a monumentally dumb screenplay. And yet…I can’t deny I sort of enjoyed the film. The main source of enjoyment was from Hardy’s performance, which was full-on bonkers. Hardy didn’t hold anything back, going above and beyond – and into a lobster tank – to bring his own interpretation of Eddie Brock to life.

Bringing a new director in for Venom 2 is a smart move. I haven’t seen Serkis’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle (or his drama Breathe), but the actor and filmmaker has a unique perspective on working with digital effects, and motion capture work. Letting Serkis bring his knowledge of this process to Venom 2 might elevate the material considerably, and result in a better movie.

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