It seems traces of another Hollywood blockbuster can be seen in Venom 2, but you have to know where to look.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which is in theaters now, and The Matrix Resurrections, which is coming this December, were both filming in San Francisco in February of 2020. This led to some production difficulties for the Venom sequel, but also accidentally resulted in a fun easter egg,
In a bit of impromptu thinking, the Venom team decided to utilize the nearby helicopters, being used for Matrix, and incorporate them into their own action sequences.
"The helicopters were actually on the Matrix movie," Venom 2 Location Manager Christopher Kusiak said regarding one Venom 2 action scene to Screen Rant. The Matrix was filming at the same time so we were catching part of their activity on camera."
At one point in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, you can see and hear multiple helicopters in pursuit of some of the movie's main characters. Instead of using their helicopters, the Venom team was able to use Matrix's helicopters for their scenes. We'll have to wait and see if the same helicopters make an appearance in The Matrix Resurrections this December.
The shared setting didn't always benefit Venom's production, however. "A lot of our driving shots went away because Matrix controlled all of downtown," Kusiak said. "We ended up moving a stunt up onto the top of the parking garage because we couldn’t get to the areas we wanted because of The Matrix. But if we would’ve been there first, it probably would’ve gone the other way."
For more, check out our Venom 2 review, or if you've already seen the movie, our Venom 2 ending explained. As for the Matrix, you can watch our latest Matrix Resurrections trailer breakdown.
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.