While there’s absolutely going to be no shortage of Marvel movies coming out in 2018, one film that’s still just a wee bit too far off for fans to be really hyped about right now is the Venom movie. But if there’s one thing that can get collectors pumped about a movie that’s 8 months away, it’s toys! And Hasbro announced an unexpected series of Venom Marvel Legends 6” Figures today that ought to do the trick…

About a week ago, a retail database list leaked that included a hugely unexpected “Venom Legends” listing on it. That was the first indication to most collectors that Hasbro was possibly planning on releasing a 2018 Marvel Legends Venom series.

Well, today they went ahead and removed all doubt—by revealing hi-res photos of the first two Venom Legends 6” figures, as well as photography of smaller and larger Venom non-Legends!

The new 6” Venom figure in the series is basically just the Marvel Legends 2016 Venom with a new head and symbiote tendril “collar”. It’s not exactly a “new” figure, but the head with open mouth and teeth looks awesome. This is a character that should be on shelves in a movie year, and I’m glad he’s not a straight-up repack.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody on Earth, we’ll also be getting a new(-ish) 6” Marvel Legends Carnage figure in the Venom series. The previous ML Carnage was a real challenge for many folks to find and is expensive now on the aftermarket, so it’s nice seeing an updated version will be available in stores again.

The big difference between this version and the previous one appears to just be the hands, as we get a cool axe hand this time around (axe hands must be in style right now—the Sideshow Carnage Exclusive also came with an axe hand). Not essential for those with the Spider-Man Legends Carnage, but a nice pickup for those who still need a 6” Carnage.

In addition to the new 6” Marvel Legends Carnage and Venom Figures, Hasbro also has some less collector-oriented toys lined up for the kiddos and the casual crowd.

The 6” (though they’re really more like 5”) “basic” Venom and Carnage figures are getting a straight reissue as part of a $19.99 two-pack. Nothing for hardcore collectors get excited about, all the packaging is worlds cooler than what these were previously released in.

In addition, the ever-popular Titan Hero Venom and Carnage Figures will be making a comeback in new packaging. Since these are two characters that are basically evergreen popular, Hasbro should have no trouble selling plenty of stock of this duo to parents wanting large, low-priced Venom and Carnage action figures for their kids.

These are actually not straight-up repacks, as there’s some obvious differences between the origianl Titan Heroes releases of the symbiotes and these new versions. Venom has his teeth showing and no tongue this time out, whereas Carnage has red hands and a totally different symbiotic pattern on his chest. As a kid, that would have been enough to sell me these two again!

Hopefully we’ll get to see more figures from the Venom Marvel Legends series during New York Toy Fair 2018 later this month, which I’ll be covering live from New York City. For the sake of expediency, photos and updates will be posted first on our social media pages, so be sure to follow the Marvel Toy News Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram if you use any of those forms of social media.

Are you happy to see Venom getting his own series of 6″ Marvel Legends, or do you think this is a series that’s unnecessary and/or just plain too much to buy in one year? What Venom-related characters, if any, would you like to see round out this series?