Summary
- Kraven the Hunter’s solo film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, promises a fresh take on the iconic villain.
- Scheduled for a December 2024 release, the movie will introduce Kraven as an anti-hero with an R-rating for mature content.
- The film’s connection to the MCU remains uncertain, but the SSU continuity hints at potential crossovers with Spider-Man and other villains.
2023’s Kraven the Hunter solo film set in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) has been in development for several years, even before the debut of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After years of delays, filming for the Sony movie finally commenced in 2022 in Europe. Kraven the Hunter will be the next in Sony’s live-action slate of upcoming Marvel movies centered on the origin stories of villains and antiheroes from Spider-Man’s comics history, starting with 2018’s Venom, starring Tom Hardy in the titular role, the 2021 sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and 2022’s reviled Morbius, starring Jared Leto as the Living Vampire.
After the release of Morbius brought the second of Spider-Man’s villains to the big screen, Sony was eager to get the ball rolling on Kraven the Hunter. While Sergei Kravinoff, a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, is one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes, he’s also one of the most unique – something already reflected in Kraven the Hunter‘s announced cast of characters. As such, the impressive hunter is the perfect choice to receive a live-action adaptation in theaters, and though many details of Kraven’s jump to the big screen are being kept tightly under wraps, new footage and story details reveal more about Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s upcoming SSU project.
The Latest Kraven The Hunter News
Kraven The Hunter has been confirmed for another delay as of April 27, 2024, moving from August 30 to December 13. This not only moves the release back by four months, but also behind Venom: The Last Dance, altering the order Sony’s upcoming Marvel movies will debut in.
The first footage for Kraven the Hunter was revealed to audiences at Sony Pictures’ presentation at 2023’s CinemaCon, which confirmed previous casting announcements and started to uncover more about the storyline for the upcoming film, as well as confirming the film’s R-rating, a departure from previous properties in the SSU. The footage shown at CinemaCon featured Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven picking up a comic-accurate costume, complete with fur lining, and brutally taking down several enemies. It also teased another Spider-Man villain, Rhino. Taylor-Johnson has signed on for multiple features, so audiences could see him in more Spider-Man-related properties in the future.
Kraven The Hunter Release Date
Though it faced several delays and was rescheduled, Kraven the Hunter is slated for release on December 13, 2024, after having previously been moved a year later from October 2023 to August 2024, likely due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes. This notably places it after Venom: The Last Dance, which may help the overall franchise reset after the lackluster reception to both Morbius and Madame Web, letting the focus go onto an established and financially successful movie series before turning to set up yet another new face.
No reason has officially been given for the decision to delay Kraven The Hunter to December 2024, but this move does notably come alongside other Sony schedule changes. This includes the next Karate Kid movie’s own delay, which was originally set to release on December 13, 2024 itself, suggesting the antihero’s film has taken its place in the release calendar.
The overall schedule being moved around is actually promising for Kraven The Hunter, as it suggests this delay is not reflective of the movie’s own quality or issues with production, but rather one part of a grander cinematic scheme. This is likely especially reassuring for audiences who have been concerned about the upcoming Marvel movie in the wake of Morbius and Madame Web, as a delay that seemed to be more based on the installment and issues surrounding it would have suggested it may be following in these predecessors footsteps.
Kraven the Hunter is directed by J.C. Chandor (who also directed Netflix’s Triple Frontier), with the script coming from Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk. Kraven the Hunter will be Sony’s fourth villain project, following Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage,Morbius, Madame Web, and the upcoming Venom: The Last Dance.
Kraven The Hunter Cast
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to superhero roles, having played the titular hero in 2010’s Kick-Ass and appearing as the MCU’s Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While there’s still been no confirmation that Spider-man will be making an appearance in the movie, Christopher Abbot has been cast as the Foreigner, Fred Hechinger will play Dmitri Smerdyakov, a.k.a. the Chameleon, and Ariana DeBose will assume the role of Calypso, a voodoo priestess and Kraven’s love-interest.
After revealing new footage for Kraven the Hunter at 2023’s CinemaCon, Sony confirmed that Russell Crowe was cast as Kraven’s father, with the movie trailer since showing a glimpse at the role. Alessandro Nivola has also been cast as iconic Spider-Man villain Rhino, who was previously portrayed by Paul Giamatti in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This version of the Rhino will have a comic-accurate costume rather than the modernized metal suit. Levi Miller of Pan, A Wrinkle in Time, and Supergirl fame will also take part in Kraven the Hunter in an undisclosed role.
Kraven The Hunter Story Details
While the exact plot details of Kraven the Hunter are still under wraps, Sony’s CinemaCon footage reveals that Taylor-Johnson will be suiting up as the infamous hunter and will go up against several foes. This is solidified by the Kraven The Hunter trailer, which shows a young version of the character seemingly gaining his powers, and using them to brutalize his enemies. Following the poor reception to the PG-13 Morbius, Sony seems to be embracing the idea of an R-rated project, and Kraven the Hunter will follow in the footsteps of films such as Deadpool and Joker, allowing the hunter to work in very violent ways, including biting the nose off of one enemy’s face. Writer Richard Wenk previously revealed that Marvel Comics’ Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline would be the inspiration for the film.
During this storyline in Marvel Comics, Kraven hunts down Spider-Man, seemingly kills him, and assumes the role of Spider-Man for himself in an effort to prove he can do it better. Speaking to the Discussing Film podcast (video no longer available), Richard Wenk stated that he’d love to see Kraven and Spider-Man come face-to-face, though this seems unlikely as Spider-Man 4 is in development at Marvel Studios, and Sony hasn’t revealed a new actor as the web-slinger for the SSU. It’s more likely that Kraven the Hunter will detail the villain’s origin story, allowing Spider-Man to be featured in a sequel, as Wenk has mentioned the possibility of Kraven the Hunter being a two-part narrative.
Kraven The Hunter Trailer
Kraven the Hunter‘s trailer was released June 19, 2023, and provided a better understanding of what the movie itself would be about. Based on this trailer, Kraven the Hunter appears to be an origin story for the character, who is depicted more as an anti-hero than his traditional supervillain setup. However, this may be more reflective of the fact that the trailer details Sergei’s traumatic childhood and subsequent desires for revenge, as the final movie could well showcase a more morally void characterization. Crucially, the timeline of the movie has Kraven’s childhood set in modern times, suggesting elements of his backstory will see drastic changes.
Could Kraven The Hunter Connect To The MCU?
With new details surfacing about Kraven the Hunter, there is speculation that the film could somehow connect to the version of Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland’s Peter Parker has already taken part in his own trilogy in the MCU, comprising Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home, and has appeared in a variety of team-up films also. However, he hasn’t crossed over with the SSU – at least not yet – so it’s less likely that Kraven will be introduced into the MCU, and almost definite that Kraven the Hunter will be set in the same universe as Venom and Morbius.
Morbius featured Easter eggs that alluded to Spider-Man villains, including Rhino, Black Cat, and Chameleon, making this link seem even more solid. However, this doesn’t mean that Kraven could never cross over into the MCU, as the bond between Marvel Studios and Sony seems to be growing stronger, with Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse directly referencing the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Sony Spider-Men and their villains appear in the MCU Phase 4 film also. It’s possible that these villains, often depicted as antiheroes, could make their way to the MCU in Avengers: Secret Wars, which would be a great next step for Taylor-Johnson following Kraven the Hunter.
Kraven the Hunter
Kraven the Hunter is the fourth movie in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, set in the same Marvel continuity as Tom Hardy’s Venom and Jared Leto’s Morbius. Played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the titular Kraven goes on a solo adventure as an anti-hero, this time independent of his comic book counterpart’s crusade to hunt down Peter Parker.
- Director
- J.C. Chandor
- Release Date
- August 30, 2024
