It was with heavy hearts that we read the news that The Venture Bros. had been canceled. After 18 years, seven seasons, and a refreshing lack of regard for TV scheduling, the fan fave Adult Swim show is done. Well, kind of. Though co-creator Jackson Publick announced the cancelation on Twitter, Adult Swim quickly hinted that the team might get to finish their story in another way.
We also want more Venture Bros. and have been working with Jackson and Doc to find another way to continue the Venture Bros. story.
— adult swim (@adultswim) September 8, 2020
After the massive season seven finale, there’s a lot to parse. So here is everything that we want/need from a potential Venture Bros. movie/extended finale/radio serial (in our dreams.)
The Venture Bros. season seven spoilers ahead
Exploring the Impact of That Monarch Reveal
Season seven ended with a rip-roaring finale that confirmed one of the most popular Venture Bros. fan theories: Rusty and Monarch are actually half-brothers. Apparently confirmed during the final act of the psychedelic and surprisingly emotional romp of “The Saphrax Protocol,” this shocking twist is massive for the members of both the Venture clan and the Guild, especially as Monarch had finally achieved his series-long dreams of becoming Level 10 Villain and had just given up the chance to kill his brother and arch-nemesis.
This moment made a lot of sense as the show has always been about family and what that means in every sense. But it was also—more importantly in this specific context—clearly meant to set up a bigger, more impactful fallout in the show’s final season. So whatever happens next with The Venture Bros., this will be a major part.
Hank and Dean’s Mother Is Who Now?
Even though season seven tied up a lot of ongoing mysteries, a few remain. One of the biggest questions (and jokes) of The Venture Bros. is the identity of Hank and Dean’s mother. We finally seemed to get an answer to that in season seven as Action Man (really) revealed an actress named Bobbi St. Simone was involved in their conception. But now that season eight has been canceled, will we get to meet her? Or find out just how she ended up as the Bros’ mother? If we get a movie or extended finale then this will have to be covered as it’s a major piece of Venture Bros. lore.
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Jonas Venture is Alive?!
F***ed up families are at the core of The Venture Bros., on display in the form of the relationship between Rusty Venture and his sons Dean and Hank. Much of that can be owed to the senior Venture’s relationship with his own father. The original leader of Team Venture was an egotistical man and awful parent to Jonas, whom he emotionally traumatized. And then there’s the fact that he apparently died. Except… he didn’t.
During the season premiere, we learned he’s actually alive. But since that big reveal wasn’t really touched on for the rest of the season, it feels like a vital part of whatever the team had in store for season eight. There’s plenty of havoc that Jonas’ return could cause, especially with the other familial entanglements that were just revealed. It’s a real shame the team won’t have a season to dig into these daddy issues, though.
Where Is Hank?
There was always going to be fallout from Dean sleeping with his brother Hank’s girlfriend. But did anyone know it would get this strange and dangerous? After all, the latter Venture Bro ended up on a trippy journey of self-discovery with his childhood toy, and then disappeared. So where is Hank? And what might he be up to? He knows about his brother’s indiscretion and the real identity of their mother. If season eight had taken place, we’d have likely seen Dean searching for his brother. Whatever form the show’s return does take, we really need to know where Hank is.
Adult Swim
What Happens to the Guild of Calamitous Intent?
Although the Guild is hardly a stable institution, the reveal that its newest Level 10 villain is actually (maybe?) a Venture Bro should make things a whole lot messier. How will the power balance change? Will Monarch have a reverse heel-turn? Could he lose his new status due to his familial connection to the not-very-good do-gooder? Maybe the big key here is actually the return of Jonas Venture, apparent father of both Rusty and the Monarch; if he shows up, there’s no telling how much trouble it’ll cause for Monarch and his place within the Guild.
Some Extremely Weird S***
In case you weren’t aware, The Venture Bros. is really, really weird. Season seven ended with a gothic cult-ceremony that played with dual timelines and had extreme LARPing vibes as well as comatose Action Man adventures. Whenever the show does return, it will hopefully be weirder than ever. Animators have a solid history of sticking it to the man when things don’t go their way; we’d love to see The Venture Bros. use this unexpected challenge as a way of making the absolute weirdest and most wonderful version of the show to be put to screen yet.
Meta-Textual Animation Madness
From the very beginning, The Venture Bros. has taken advantage of its parent company’s impressive animation catalog to poke fun at classic properties and the history of the form. The creatives are clearly students of animation and the milestones that have shaped it. One of the saddest things about this announcement is knowing that meta-exploration will end. With that in mind, we hope that any movie or extended exploration the show gets will lean heavily into the satire of its roots and uses it to send up classical animation archetypes one last time.
The Venture Bros. is streaming on Hulu.
Featured Image: Adult Swim