Kraven the Hunter director J.C. Chandor is about to enter the hornets’ nest known as comic book movie fandom with a big ask for everyone: Please be kind and don’t rewind. Weeks before his film about one of Spider-Man’s toughest villains is set to release, Chandor is hoping perceptions and expectations for his superhero entry aren’t colored by the disappointment that has dominated the recent past of Sony’s Spider-Man universe.
To say Sony’s Spider-Man cinematic universe has been underwhelming over the last six years would be the understatement of the decade. Since 2018, Sony Pictures Entertainment has released three Venom movies, a Morbius movie, and a Madame Web film which, all told, have amounted to little more than a boatload of money and the ignominy of (justified) hate. None of those films have a Metacritic score above 49. While Morbius director Daniel Espinosa defends his crapshoot of a film, Chandor tells ComicBook.com “a lot of the fans were upset with certain decisions and certain outcomes [of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe],” and he wants them to go into Kraven the Hunter with their minds completely wiped of anything relating to the movie’s predecessors.
“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.”
He further explained that his intention was to isolate and protect the film, implying that he made Kraven the Hunter separate of any connection to the Sony Spider-Man Cinematic Universe. That bodes well for comic book fans that have grown tired of movie studios crafting movies as incomplete pieces meant to connect to a larger, puzzling cinematic universe. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who will play Kraven in the film, also has compared the action to that in the Bond films, which is the furthest thing from any of the previous films in this Sony Spider-Man Cinematic Universe.
When Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on December 13, we’ll be able to judge if Chandor’s film deserves our impartiality, or if it’s just another superhero money grab with some occasionally fun action sequences. As of now, the jury is still out.