Knull Creator Donny Cates Confirms Talks with Sony, Praises Upcoming Movie: “That’s how you treat a king”
A few days ago, the first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance dropped, surprising fans with an unexpected reveal: the debut of Knull, the King in Black. Given Sony’s inconsistent history with Marvel characters and the poor reception of most SSU films, fans were understandably skeptical about Knull’s inclusion in the movie.
Shortly after, Knull’s creators, Donny Cates, and Ryan Stegman, took to social media to express their surprise at Sony’s use of the character without their prior knowledge. Stegman mentioned they would be seeking compensation, while Cates humorously shared an inverted Venom logo that simply read “money.”
While fans have legitimate concerns—given the lack of proper build-up for Knull and the absence of worthy opponents for the villain—another issue is Sony’s decision to bring the character to live-action without consulting his original creators. Adding to the skepticism, the previous two Venom movies, while commercially successful, were not particularly well-received.
However, over 24 hours after his “money” post, Donny Cates revealed that he had been in talks with Sony and had read the script for the upcoming movie. According to Cates, the film is bigger and better than fans could imagine, and he’s reportedly very pleased with Knull’s portrayal.
Fans responded with a mix of excitement and humor to the news: