KRAVEN THE HUNTER (2024)

Sony has delayed the release of Kraven the Hunter by a year, but this could spell great news for the upcoming film. Sergei Kravinoff, a.k.a. Kraven the Hunter, is one of Spider-Man’s most enduring foes in Marvel Comics, so his introduction into live-action is highly-anticipated, particularly since there had been plans to integrate him into a number of prior Marvel movie franchises. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, a sequel to Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and even Marvel Studios’ MCU all almost featured Kraven the Hunter, but the character was finally confirmed to be coming to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe in August 2018.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson was cast as the titular antihero in May 2021, and Kraven the Hunter was originally expected to release on January 13, 2023. The film was later delayed to October 6, 2023, which became the date advertised for the film in Kraven the Hunter’s red-band trailer. However, after the onset of 2023’s SAG-AFTRA strike, joining the WGA strike and bringing Hollywood to a halt, Kraven the Hunter was delayed once again in a huge shake-up for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe release schedule. The movie is now expected to release on August 30, 2024, which may enable it to avoid one major issue that has plagued Sony’s Marvel movies.

Kraven The Hunter’s Year-Long Delay Helps Avoid A Movie Issue

The release of Kraven the Hunter’s trailer on June 19, 2023, was followed by an onslaught of criticism relating the upcoming Sony project to its previous installment in the SSU, Morbius. Released in April 2022, Morbius was a critical and commercial failure for Sony, becoming the subject of a variety of internet memes mocking the storyline, quality, and reception to the film. Unfortunately for Sony, Kraven the Hunter’s trailer came under scrutiny with many relating it to the quality of Morbius, especially since Kraven the Hunter is set to transform a bona fide Spider-Man villain from Marvel Comics into an antihero, just as Morbius did.

Sony is set to change Kraven the Hunter’s origin story, leading many to draw connections between Michael Morbius’ origins as the Living Vampire in Morbius. There have also been concerns that Kraven the Hunter’s storyline seems as lifeless as Morbius’, and the rise of the “it’s Kraven time” slogan draws a resemblance to “it’s Morbin’ time,” which plagued the release of Morbius in late 2022. This means that Kraven the Hunter’s year-long delay may be the best move for the film, as it will leave an even greater gap between Kraven the Hunter and Morbius, perhaps allowing audiences to forget the dire connections made between the two projects.

Why Moving Kraven The Hunter Is Less Complicated Than Other Marvel Movies

So far, only three projects have been released in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Morbius, and not many connections have been made between the two separate main characters. This disconnection is continuing for the time being, as Sony are expected to release Madame Web, a third Venom project, and then Kraven the Hunter, each focusing on a different story. This means that Kraven the Hunter can easily be shifted in Sony’s timeline without having much of an effect on the overarching storyline that Sony is devising. Hopefully, the new release date for Kraven the Hunter will allow the film to sever its ties to Morbius.