Spider-Man’s Rogues Gallery is arguably the best in all of comics. Only Batman might have the edge over the wall-crawler regarding baddies. Green Goblin, Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Venom, and Carnage are only a few iconic villains from the Marvel comics’ pages. Each has epic origins and storylines that could be adapted into successful feature films, but this has not been the case lately. “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Morbius,” and “Madame Web” have all fallen short of expectations. The shuffling release date with the latest “Spider-Man” spinoff, “Kraven The Hunter,” arguably reflects wavering confidence from Sony.
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However, by finally settling on a December release, after many release date delays, perhaps the studio finally agrees on the film’s potential. Then again, given the red-band trailer and all the blood that warrants it, is an R-rated movie the right family-friendly choice for the holidays? It’s a perplexing decision, among many others, that may or may not pay off for Sony.
In the anti-hero film, which is an origin story, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as Kraven The Hunter, aka Sergei Dimitri Symostivych Kravinoff, a Russian big game hunter seemingly betrayed by his father and left for dead after a vicious lion attack. Then, having his blood mixed with the animal, Kravinoff develops superhuman speed, strength, and heightened senses. It’s essentially a villain/anti-hero origin story in Sony’s Spider-Man universe. The movie stars Taylor-Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Christopher Abbott, Alessandro Nivola, Russell Crowe, and Fred Hechinger. Expect appearances by other Spidey villains, such as The Rhino and The Chameleon.
The movie is directed by J.C. Chandor (“A Most Violent Year,” “All Is Lost”) and written by Richard Wenk (“The Equalizer”) and the screenwriting team Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (“Iron Man,” “Uncharted”). Veteran producer Avi Arad is attached to the project.
Sony will release “Kraven the Hunter” on December 13. Watch the latest trailer below: