“Ted Lasso” standout Juno Temple seems to be trading soccer stars for comic-book antiheroes, as the actor is in negotiations for a lead role in Sony and Marvel’s “Venom 3.”
The new movie stars Tom Hardy as the titular lethal protector Venom (and its human host Eddie Brock), one of Sony’s slate of Marvel characters, and will be directed by Kelly Marcel in her feature debut. Character details for Temple are begin kept under wraps.
While Temple is perhaps best known for her Emmy and SAG Award-nominated performance as Keely Jones on the hit Apple TV+ series “Ted Lasso” — which may or may not be ending soon — the actor has delivered memorable work in “Atonement,” “Killer Joe,” “Vinyl,” “The Offer” and “Dirty John.” She’s next set to star in FX’s “Fargo,” leading the Season 5 cast alongside Jon Hamm and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Temple is represented by UTA, B-Side Management, Maison 2 and Lichter Grossman Nichols.
Marcel and Hardy developed the story for “Venom 3,” with Marcel handling the screenplay. The duo, who also wrote and produced the first two “Venom” installments, return to produce the film alongside Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal and Hutch Parker.
The first two films (2018’s “Venom,” directed by Ruben Fleischer and the 2021 sequel “Let There Be Carnage,” helmed by Andy Serkis) earned a combined $1.3 billion at the box office and, last April, Sony announced that a third film was in the works during their CinemaCon presentation. Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Venom last appeared in a credits sequence in 2021’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” but it’s unclear which of Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters — which also includes baddies like Morbius, as well as Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web with standalone movies on the horizon — might show up in “Venom 3.”
Deadline was first to report news of the actor’s potential involvement in the project. Reps for Sony and Temple did not immediately respond to request for comment.
