Release date, story details and cast

Kraven the Hunter set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), had been in development for several years, even before Tom Holland's debut as Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After years of delays, filming on the Sony film has finally begun in 2022 in Europe. Kraven the Hunter appears to be the final film in Sony's slate of live-action films centering on the origin stories of Spider-Man's villains, which include the Poison trilogy, starring Tom Hardy in the lead role, Morbiusstarring Jared Leto as the Living Vampire, and Dakota Johnson Lady Teia.

After the release of Morbius brought Spider-Man's second villain to the big screen, Sony was eager to get the ball rolling Kraven the Hunter. While Sergei Kravinoff is one of Spider-Man's deadliest foes, he's also one of his most unique, with a fun premise that sets him apart from other webcrawler villains. Therefore, the impressive hunter seemed the perfect choice to receive a live-action adaptation in theaters, but the final product seems to tell a different story.

Box office and critical reception of Kraven The Hunter

A critical and commercial failure

Given Kraven the Hunter's talent both behind and in front of the screen, hopes that the film would fare a little better than other films in Sony's Spider-Man Universe outside of the Venom trilogy were in vain, as Kraven the Hunter failed to light up the box office and was a failure with criticsobtaining the same 15% score on Rotten Tomatoes as Morbius and only slightly higher than the 11% score of Lady Teia.

Kraven the Hunter The box office performance is a nightmare for Sony and one that could very well be the last film in their shared universe. In fact, the $11 million opening weekend domestically is $4 million lower than Madame Web and may not reach the worldwide total of $100 million when it officially ends its run. This would make Kraven the Hunter the worst-performing film in Sony's Spider-Man universe.

Cast of Kraven the Hunter

Aaron Taylor-Johnson works alongside some Oscar winners

Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson is the main focus in Kraven the Hunter As the titular character, several other Spider-Man characters and villains have significant roles in the film. Most notably are Russell Crowe as Kraven's father Nikolai Kravinoff, Ariana DeBose as Calypso, Fred Hechinger as Dmitri Smerdyakov (Chameleon), Christopher Abbot as The Stranger, and Alessandro Nivola as Spider-Man's main villain, the Rhino. Still, Taylor-Johnson is the standout throughout the film, which is understandable.

The complete main cast is as follows:

Actor	Role of Kraven the Hunter
Aaron Taylor-Johnson	Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter
Russell Crowe	Nikolai Kravinoff
Ariana De Bose	Calypso
Fred Hechinger	Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon
Christopher Abbott	The Foreigner
Alessandro Nivola	Aleksei Sytsevich/The Rhinoceros

Kraven the Hunter Trailers

Watch the trailers here

Kraven the HunterThe trailer for was released on June 19, 2023and provided a better understanding of what the film itself would be like. The trailer promised an origin story for Kraven the Hunter, placing himself alongside Poison, Morbiusand Lady Teia as origin stories in Sony's Spider-Man universe. The official Red Band trailer also highlighted the film's R rating, a first for the Sony universe.

Subsequent trailers released afterward showed much the same, with the marketing focusing on the film's edgier and more violent aspects, attempting to differentiate itself from the various PG-13 films in Sony's Spider-Man universe. One particularly interesting aspect of the trailers was the confirmation that Rhino would appear in the film for Kraven to face.

Before the film was released, Sony uploaded an 8-minute Kraven the Hunter sequence, a last-ditch marketing effort to drum up a little more excitement for the film. While it didn't work out in their favor, it was an interesting choice for Sony to make.

Kraven the Hunter ending and spoilers

Shows Kraven's origin story

Most Kraven the Hunter are worried about working the origins of Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Sergei Kravinoff, his relationship with his father, and how he eventually becomes the iconic villain. It also shows what his brother, Dmitri Smerdyakov, was like and how he became the Chameleon, the first villain to appear in a Spider-Man comic book. At the end of the film, Kraven took down Rhino and indirectly killed his father. By donning the iconic lion jacket, Kraven's character settles into something much darker than before and prepares him to face Spider-Man in the future.

Could Sony's Spider-Man universe continue after Kraven the Hunter?

Kraven the Hunter appears to be the last film

Sony's Spider-Man Universe had a busy 2024, releasing Lady Teia, Venom: The Last Danceand Kraven the Hunter throughout the year. Despite the busy schedule, there were no other films in production after Kraven the Hunteropening up the discussion about whether Sony's shared universe attempt would actually continue. Unfortunately, it seems Kraven the Hunter It will be the last film set in Sony's Spider-Man universe, which has never featured the iconic Marvel hero in any capacity.

During the promotion of Venom: The Last DanceKnull has been touted as the next big bad for the shared universe, but it looks like those plans could fall through unless he's incorporated into the next Spider-Man trilogy somehow. As for Aaron Taylor-Johnson, it seems like the only way he could reasonably return to the role of Kraven would be to be in a Spider-Man movie. At the end of the day, Kraven the Hunter it was just the next flop in Sony's Spider-Man universe, which has never seen success outside of Venom.