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 the end of Venom: The Last Dance, 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

Trapped on Klyntar (And Needing A Codex)

As seen in the very beginning of Venom: The Last Dance, Knull himself confirms that he was the being who created the symbiotes. However, Knull the Symbiote God is eventually betrayed by his own creations, trapped within the world known as Kylntar. Likewise, 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

Forcing Venom’s Hand To Free The King in Black

In the comics, it was Cletus Kasady’s Carnage who was instrumental in bringing about Knull’s freedom in the comics. 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. As such, 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. Likewise, the Xenophages take the place of Carnage as the ones working to free the King in Black, as Woody Harrelson’s Carnage died in the previous Venom movie.

Who Will Free Knull In Sony’s Spider-Man Universe?

Venom? Agony? Spider-Man?

Keeping that in mind, it will be very exciting to see who ends up freeing Knull in the future of Sony’s Spider-Man universe. After all, Venom: The Last Dance’s post-credits certainly implies that the King in Black’s freedom is inevitable. While it can’t be Carnage who freed Knull in the comics, it’s heavily implied that the Venom symbiote is still alive and will one day reunite with Eddie. Perhaps Venom will eventually be put in a similar situation where he’ll have no choice but to free Knull (even without Carnage).

Likewise, Juno Temple’s Doctor Payne and her new symbiote partner Agony could eventually become another possibility, seeing how they survived the battle at Area 55. Lastly, perhaps even an iteration of Spider-Man could be involved in a future King in Black storyline and inadvertently frees Knull, assuming Spider-Man gets his own symbiote and codex ahead of time (perhaps in Spider-Man 4). After all, there’s still a piece of Venom in the MCU. Either way, Venom: The Last Dance certainly isn’t the last audiences have seen from this new live-action version of Knull.

Venom: The Last Dance is now playing in theaters.