This year’sCinemaConhas already offered up several exciting reveals, and Sony Pictures is the latest studio to add to the news. During their presentation, the company announced that its upcomingSpider-Manspin-offKraven the Hunterwill be rated R. While there are other Marvel properties with an R rating,Kraven the Hunterwill mark Sony’s first superhero movie with the rating.
Though most plot details about the film are unknown for the time being, we (obviously) already know that the feature will focus on the titular villain, played byAaron Taylor-Johnson. Prior to the film, Taylor-Johnson made his Marvel debut, having appeared in the MCU as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver inAvengers: Age of Ultronand, briefly, inCaptain America: The Winter Soldier. Kraven himself isa formidable villainwho first appeared inThe Amazing Spider-Man #15in the 1960s. He’s known for holding a variety of abilities all of which enhance his physical abilities to superhuman levels.
Along with Taylor-Johnson, the movie starsWest Side Story’sAriana DeBoseas Voodoo Priestess Calypso,Fred Hechingeras Kraven’s half-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov (a.k.a. Chameleon), andChristopher Abbottreportedly playing primary antagonist the Foreigner.Alessandro Nivola,Levi Miller, andRussell Crowewill also star in currently unknown roles.
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WhyKraven’s Rating Is a Big Deal
As mentioned, only a single-digit number of Marvel-related films received the R-rating, including theDeadpoolmoviesandLogan, though neither were released through Sony. In recent years, Sony has become known as the hub forSpider-Man-centric features, notably with theTom Holland-led movies,VenomandVenom: Let There Be Carnage, andMorbius. However, despite the potential for at least the latter three to lean into more R-rated territory, they all gained a PG-13 rating. WithKravenbeing the first to hit the R status for Sony, it gives both the film and the company an opportunity to go all out with the subject matter and however they choose to approach it – whether it be through blood and gore, a barrage of F-bombs, or the like. It also gives the movie another way to stand out from other upcoming superhero releases
AlongsideKraven, there are still a few upcomingSpider-Manfeatures for fans to keep an eye out for. In June, the sequel toInto the Spider-Verse, entitledSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, will release. AVenom 3is also in the works, as well as spin-offMadame Webslated to debut in 2024.
Kraven the Hunterreleases in theaters on July 11, 2025. Revisit our interview with Taylor-Johnson and hisBullet Trainco-starsBrad PittandBrian Tyree Henrybelow:
