Kraven the Hunter trailer with big Spider-Man questions and some answers

This week we finally got a look at it Kraven the Hunterthe next film in Sony’s burgeoning cinema universe of movies about Spider-Man villains without Spider-Man. The requirementswith Aaron Taylor Johnson (principle, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Excellent) is the latest in what I find to be the most confusing franchise in Hollywood — not because it’s hard to follow, but because I can’t figure out what deal anyone has or why Sony is doing it for the life of me.

The requirements follows poison and its sequel as well Morbid in Sony’s weird Spider-Villain universe, which exists mainly because Sony owns the movie rights to all heroes and villains directly connected to Spider-Man and for some reason decided to make anti-hero movies starring Spider-Man . man villains. We’ll get one too Madam Web Film starring Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney in 2024.

So I have some questions and I assume you do too. I’m going to frame these questions in a helpful “Q&A” format where we can all pretend I’m not just arguing with myself.

So Kraven’s whole thing is that he got mauled by a lion and it made him better?

Uhh… that sure seems to be it The Kraven’s deal is. Maybe the film explains more? But for now, it seems like a lion bled into young Kraven’s open wound and now he has animal superpowers.

What about the usual Kraven?

That’s it?

Yes! He simply thinks of himself as the ultimate hunter who will never be satisfied until he has hunted the most dangerous prey. Often that means Spider-Man. For example, it remains unclear why he has never been so interested in Wolverine or Captain America. As one of Spidey’s first villains, it’s probably personal at this point.

Later comics introduced an extensive backstory for him, detailing his origins as a Russian aristocrat involved in all sorts of nefarious power struggles successor, but much more confusing. At least some of that seems to be in the film thanks to the presence of Russell Crowe as Kraven’s father and Dmitri Smerdyakov (Fred Hechinger), Kraven’s half-brother, better known as The Chameleon.

So this is new for you too, isn’t it?

oops I’m not crazy. Kraven has had superhuman abilities in some stories, but these are usually pretty muted and not like that. Kraven the Hunter seems to have a more gonzo violent attitude, and sure, why not?

Kraven the Movie seems to be really quite violent! How does Spider-Man fit in here?

I don’t know! That’s the weirdest thing about these movies; since they are R-rated movies bordering on Spider-Man, which Spider-Man – at least the current MCU version, played by Tom Holland – can’t possibly fit in. The MCU isn’t an R-rated place (at least not until). dead pool 3, which is a strange thing). And even with the flexibility offered by the interdimensional shenanigans of Across the spider verse (with a minor character from poison!) And Spider-Man: No Way Home remains pretty hard I can imagine Sony wanting to appeal to the exact same audience that came here for the release of these films.

huh Then what is the endgame here?

Sony has had plans for a Sinister Six movie in one form or another for almost a decade, although officially there are no plans for a new attempt at a filmmaker at this time. Sony has certainly brought enough villains to the big screen to draw from for the Spider-Man villain team, and The requirements

So anything can happen. Perhaps a new Spider-Man will be cast for Sony’s R-rated verses Spider-Man: No Way Home And Morbid Both had confusing post-credits scenes implying that MCU Spidey doesn’t exist in this world. Maybe Sony will go even harder and have all these villains band together against someone who does not Spiderman. Or maybe the unlikely happens and the Tom Holland Peter Parker/Spider-Man we currently know and love is unlucky enough to face all of these creepy villains at the same time.

But the more likely answer? Sony’s spider-villain movies have found a niche that nothing else really fills right now: violent, big-budget blockbusters with plenty of comic-book ridiculousness. Granted, this is a tricky niche. poison had success in it Morbid not, and it remains to be seen how long Sony can get away with a slight Spider-Zest instead of Spider-Man. But right now, it’s the weirdest thing happening in superhero cinema, and it’s only going to get weirder.