See The First 8-Minutes Of “Kraven The Hunter”
Sony Pictures has done something pretty rare and released the first eight minutes of Kraven the Hunter online. The film is going to be in theaters on December 13th. The movie features Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the main character, Sergei Kravinoff, an infamous hunter from the classic Spider-Man comics. While this move is intended to create buzz for the film, it highlights an ongoing issue for a lot of fans, including myself… Sony’s continued focus on Spider-Man villains without actually having Spider-Man himself in the movie.
For a few years, Sony has been developing movies centered around Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, like Venom, Morbius, and now Kraven the Hunter. While these films often look good visually and are packed with action, they fail to capture the essence of what makes these villains interesting, and that is their relationship to Spider-Man. Kraven, for example, is one of Peter Parker’s most iconic villains, known for his passion to beat Spider-Man and fulfill mission to hunt Spidey. Without Spider-Man in the movie, Kraven’s story, I feel, will lack the emotional weight and stakes that made it exciting in the comics.
The decision to release eight minutes of the film may be an attempt to get fans to purchase tickets in advance and get bodies into theaters, but it also shows Sony’s strategy of relying on somewhat familiar characters without truly understanding their stories. Rather than leaning into the Spider-Man connection, Sony appears determined to create standalone villain stories that lack the substance of the larger Spider-Man universe.
Many fans, me included, feel that Sony should reconsider its approach to these films. The best stories often come from characters interacting within a shared universe, and without Spider-Man, these films feel disconnected and unbearable to watch. Until Sony can bring Spider-Man into the mix, it’s hard to feel excited about these villain films.
