Woody Harrelson tells us why they cut Cletus’ curly hair for Venom: Let There Be Carnage
What happened to the red ringlets seen in Venom's post-credits scene? Woody Harrelson shares he was not a fan
Film Features Venom
For those that stuck around to see Venom’s post-credits scene in 2018, the biggest surprise wasn’t the blatant sequel bait in the form of Woody Harrelson’s carnage-pledging Cletus Kasady—it was the luscious curls on top of his head.
Throughout the Marvel comics, the man-who-would be-Carnage most frequently sports a shock of messy orange hair, and said hair’s curliness has varied from illustrator to illustrator over the years. But when Harrelson’s Kasady appeared behind bars in Venom’s stinger sporting a wig of red ringlets, it caught some viewers off guard, and prompted laughs from others.
In this writer’s estimation, the wig worked—it seemed to meet Venom on its own gonzo wavelength, and suggested that Harrelson would be putting a distinct spin on Kasady, a convict who becomes the infamous supervillain Carnage after his body plays host to the same alien symbiote that created Venom. Of course, the bold styling choice had its detractors in long-time fans of the character, not least of which was Harrelson himself.
In short, the curls don’t stick around for the sequel. Though Harrelson’s Kasady returns for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, promising a monster mash showdown between Kasady’s alter ego and Eddie Brock’s (Tom Hardy), his hair’s been given a noticeable trim. During Harrelson’s virtual press rounds for the film, The A.V. Club asked the actor what happened to the wig this time around and his answer was refreshingly frank: “I didn’t like it—I didn’t like that wig. I just wanted something a little more realistic.”
But axing the curly wig wasn’t the only influence Harrelson had over his character’s look in the sequel. When he’s not seen in his prison jumper, Kasady’s streetwear fashion-sense is decidedly ‘90s. Designed by Joanna Eawell, the costuming is a nod to the decade of adrenaline-fueled comics the character was borne from (Kasady is introduced in 1991's The Amazing Spider-Man #344, while Carnage appears in issue #361). His wardrobe is also, notably, all vegan, per the request of Harrelson:
“Of course, [Joanna] made everything vegan, which a guy like me does appreciate. I haven’t worn leather in many, many years, so a lot of really cool costume people have helped accommodate my, uh, fetish. [Laughs.] But she’s great and I love the look.”
You can check out more our conversation with Woody Harrelson in the video above, including his thoughts on reuniting with War For The Planet Of The Apes co-star Andy Serkis, and how the pair worked together to create Kasady-as-Carnage’s distinct sense of movement.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage opens in theaters on Friday, October 1. For a refresher on Venom, you can read writer Jesse Hassenger’s 2018 review here, or check out his fresh take on the sequel here. You can also watch our video interview with Tom Hardy to hear how the sequel ignores the critics in favor of delivering what the fans want to see.
16 Comments
Huh. I didn’t know he was in the Planet of the Apes movies with Serkis. How was War, anyway?
Good, consistent with Dawn, extremely dour. If you want a really grim story of military occupation and ethnic oppression via prison camps, it does a lot with that. But it’s every bit as joyless and depressing as that sounds.Well made, though. And a good conclusion to that story.
an editor would point out you didn’t need to say “with Serkis” unless you are in fact Serkis and feel under-spoken-about
Editors?EDITORS?WE DON’T NEEEEED NO STINKING EDITORS-The AV Club
I think it would be fun to join the Serkis in making a movie. I’m hoping he pronounces his name like Circus or that won’t work at all.
Such an editor would be annoyingly picky. And also arguably incorrect, since there have been three iterations of Planet of the Apes as movies: the original series, the new series (with Serkis), and a standalone film in between.
While I appreciate the contribution, I can’t pay you anything. And don’t think I’m going to feel bad and change my mind if you keep editing anyway!(I was independently surprised to learn that Woody had done a Planet of the Apes movie AND that he had an existing relationship with Andy Serkis. I’m sure that could have been phrased more clearly, but I’m not going to lose sleep over it.)
It was an excellent revenge-Western.
It was an excellent revenge-Western.Good description. And it did a great job of putting the audience in the head-space of, “Yeah, ya know, maybe it’s okay that humanity’s not on top anymore.”
Excellent. Best of the modern ape movies.
Carnage is not the same symbiote as Venom, he’s the Venom symbiote’s child.
You’re mispronouncing symbiote.
Shut up, Dax.
“Wait. Lemme git this straight. Venom done gave burth to another alien baybee – but he’s a dude? You tellin me I been watchin a LGBTQ+ movie this here whole time? Well ain’t that summin?”
We need an interview to confirm it was changed because it looked absolutely terrible?