The disastrous Morbius and Madame Web films have put a serious dent in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe despite the relative commercial success of Tom Hardy’s Venom trilogy. But upcoming effort Kraven the Hunter is an opportunity for fans to “wash away” those missteps, according to its director.
Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web received negative reviews from critics, and while the franchise has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, Morbius and Madame Web were high-profile box office flops, with Spider-Woman actress Sydney Sweeney even poking fun at the latter.
Speaking to ComicBook, Kraven the Hunter director J.C. Chandor called on fans to give the film a chance, with those previous movies still fresh in the memory.
“I don’t want to get too into the nitty gritty of it, but here’s what I would say: for me as a filmmaker, my number one goal, especially, quite frankly, over the last couple of years where you guys are deep in this world… Some of the fans out there, a lot of the fans, were upset with certain decisions and certain outcomes [of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe],” Chandor said.
“Then with other films, they’ve gone on to be tremendous successes. So there’s been a mixed success rate. People have got to give us a chance and come out and support this film, and literally try to wash away some of the other stuff that’s happened. Give our film a chance.”
So, if fans do give Kraven a chance and head to theatres to check it out, what will they see? Chandor continued: “I think they’ll realize that we’ve done everything we can to give them a pretty fun story. You’ll see when the movie’s over, there’s potential for a lot of things to happen. But my goal was to isolate our movie, protect it, and just tell a good damn story. And then we’ll have opportunities to do a lot of fun things.”
Kraven the Hunter, which comes out next month, focuses on one of Spider-Man's oldest rogues, a skilled hunter who sets his sights on Spider-Man after conquering all other prey in the animal kingdom.
Last month, Chandor took the stage at NYCC 2024 to reveal the first seven minutes of the R-rated superhero film. Kick-Ass and Avengers: Age of Ultron star Aaron-Taylor Johnson, who plays Kraven, called the character an “apex predator, the top of the food chain.” “Kraven's a hunter, not a poacher,” Johnson added. “Like every hunter knows, sometimes you have to cull the herd to preserve order. Of course, when he starts applying that to human beings, it becomes a pretty dark story."
Kraven the Hunter also features more Marvel characters beyond Kraven and Spider-Man villain Rhino. "We built some set pieces and some action pieces that I’m super proud of... it’s not just Kraven. We’ve got the opportunity to really dive into the Marvel characters here,” Chandor revealed.
Whether Kraven ends up a success or a flop, it seems Sony is determined to soldier on with its Spider-Man Universe. In an interview with IGN, Venom director Kelly Marcel revealed that the debut of Knull in Venom: The Last Dance is "just the beginning."
As for what’s next after Kraven the Hunter, there are various projects in the works that either directly or indirectly relate to the SSU. The hotly anticipated animated film Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse is still in production, with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 due out in July 2026. There’s also a live-action Spider-Man Noir series starring none other than Nicolas Cage as the gun-toting, fedora-wearing vigilante.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
