This will be the toughest Marvel movie: In keeping with the current hype about “Deadpool & Wolverine”, Sony has released a brutal trailer for “Kraven the Hunter“.
Sony’s own Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is already threatening to fail before it has had a chance to fully unfold: Four films have been released so far with “Venom”, “Venom: Let There Be Carnage”, “Morbius” and “Madame Web”, half of which flopped enormously at the international box office. Worse, “Morbius” and “Madame Web” were downright ridiculed on social media. But this year could be the year in which everything is decided. Will the SSU be able to take off and thus become the cinematic counterpart to the great Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that those responsible at Sony Pictures intended it to be? Or will it fail spectacularly and thus be cremated even before the alleged climax can appear in the form of “The Sinister Six” – the Anti-Avengers, if you will. Two Marvel films are set to turn things around: “Venom: The Last Dance” and “Kraven the Hunter”. A fresh trailer for the latter has just been released:
According to the trailer, “Kraven the Hunter” will be an origin story for the deadliest hunter in the world, Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven the Hunter. It is revealed that family relationships do not necessarily lead to a firm blood bond. The mother died early, the father (Russell Crowe) an unscrupulous and merciless patriarch, plus Dmitri Smerdyakov (Fred Hechinger) a half-brother who probably hates Sergei just as much as he hates their father. So the big conflict of this film could be one within the family, even if two antagonists are presented with Aleksei Sytsevich alias Rhino (Alessandro Nivola) and The Foreigner (Christopher Abbott). Because Dmitri Smerdyakov is also known as the chameleon in the comics. However, both brothers are united by the hunt for Spider-Man.
“Kraven the Hunter” could be the hardest Marvel movie ever
The fact that Sony Pictures has released the brand new trailer for “Kraven the Hunter” at this point in time, long before the theatrical release on December 12, 2024, could be pure calculation. Because “Deadpool & Wolverine” is currently moping the floor with the cinematic competition, even if the film has already had to leave the top in the United States to the romantic drama “Just One More Time” with Blake Lively. Worldwide, 1.036 billion US dollars could be earned at that time. In all likelihood, the MCU film will not come close to Disney’s other box office hit this year, “Inside Out 2” with a whopping $1.595 billion in revenue. Nevertheless, the film proves that a high age rating is not an obstacle if the audience responds to the film.
And: Apparently, director J.C. Chandor (“Triple Frontier”) is taking a full risk with the antihero Sergei Kravinoff. The first teaser trailer already hinted at it, but the brand new trailer shows the full extent of the bloody and brutal action scenes. Just by looking at the trailer, one could easily assume that the film could potentially not receive a youth rating in this country, a real R rating that is not primarily given on the basis of expletives. It is clear that even if Sony tries to push through the film with a PG-13 rating, i.e. an FSK:12, it will still pose a risk. Because only true comic fans know the character. At least this target group would be picked up with an uncompromising action adventure. And: “Borderlands” is currently showing how not to do it in cinema.
