Kraven the Hunter

Image via The Movie Database

Jessica Aguilar-Resendiz, Writer

Kraven the Hunter is a new and upcoming American superhero film based on Marvel Comics. The film is intended to be the fourth installment in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and will be distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film will be directed by J. C. Chandor followed by a screenplay by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk. The film is said to be following Venom and its sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius. Kraven the Hunter was originally said to be released on January 13, 2023, but was pushed back, but the official release date is said to be October 6, 2023. 

Sony hasn’t revealed too much about the upcoming Kraven movie. However, in the original Marvel comics, Sergei Kravinoff is born into a Russian family. He then becomes a world-famous game hunter who tries to catch the ultimate and tricky prize: Spider-Man. He first shows up in ‘The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (1964). Later stories show witch doctor Calypso giving Kravinoff a herbal potion that grants him enhanced speed and senses that match those of a wild cat. Unlike Venom, Kraven has never had a real-life existence outside of being a Spider-Man villain. That’s going to make it hard for them to create a narrative for him without including Spidey in some form. There still hasn’t been any news relating to Tom Holland being in the film but in all honesty, anyone could play him since we’d never see Spider-Man without his mask on. One way they could go would be for Kraven to go to the big city and hunt down Spidey since he’s the ultimate prize. 

Kraven the Hunter is also said to be Sony’s first rated R movie according to CinemaCon 2023. CinemaCon seems to back up this announcement, offering a lot of primal violence and blood. Apparently, this includes Kraven biting someone’s nose off and spitting it directly at the camera. There also seems to be some decapitation by a bear trap, impaling, and a crossbow shooting involved in the film. Additionally, the teaser for the film that Spider-Man’s famous for, Rhino, played by Alessandro Nivola will join Kraven in the film. 

The cast for Kraven the Hunter includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson who will be playing Kraven. Joining him are Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, and Alessandro Nivola. It has been rumored that most of the primary cast will be Kraven’s family, which leads to people believing that Crowe’s character will be Kraven’s father. Nivola is said to play as Spider-Mans classic villain Rhino, and Hechinger is said to play as Kraven’s brother, Chameleon. DeBose will play Calypso. Sony cast Christopher Abbott as the main villain, and some sources have said that Abbott’s villain is The Foreigner, but it hasn’t been confirmed yet.

That’s the end for Kraven the Hunter movie information. This movie seems like it’s going to be a great addition to the Sony Spider-Man Universe and a great movie in general. I can’t wait for this movie to drop in theaters on October 6, 2023.