Venom: The Last Dance star Tom Hardy has said he is “very proud” of director Kelly Marcel who he has been friends with for “decades”.

Speaking at the film’s premiere in London on Wednesday, Hardy told the PA news agency he was “loving every moment” and said the film is “monumentally brilliant”.

The film, which will be released in the UK on Friday, will see the 47-year-old return to play Venom and his host Eddie Brock as the pair are forced to make “a devastating decision” in Marcel’s directorial debut.

Hardy told PA: “You don’t want to see me emotional, I’m absolutely fine, I’m loving every moment.

“But I guess in some aspects, there are lots of feelings, I wouldn’t say I’m emotional.

“I’m very proud of my business partner here (Marcel), because I’ve seen it grow from us shopping and trying to get work together to now delivering something which I think is monumentally brilliant.

“I know how hard it is anyway to get your foot through the door, let alone doing a first film, and let alone that first film being such huge, huge pressure and having delivered at such a level that she has.

“I’m just mega, mega impressed and super proud of her.

“We’ve known each other for the best part of, like, three or four decades, it’s just brilliant to get to work with your friends on something so huge and then see your friend deliver something monumentally difficult as a first film, doing that is exceptional… what a wonderful experience to have.”

Marcel, 50, told PA fans can expect a “very big, epic film with tons of crazy action sequences” to finish the Venom trilogy, after 2018’s Venom and 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

She said she hoped the film, which originated from a screenplay Marcel wrote alongside Hardy, would provide an “emotional and satisfying” ending.

The film also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach and Stephen Graham.

It comes after Hardy paid tribute to “lovely friend” Dick Pope earlier in the day following the cinematographer’s death at the age of 77.