Marvel’s Kraven The Hunter Is Officially R Rated

4 months ago

It’s official: Kraven the Hunter is R-rated. Not that it should come as any surprise because Sony and the filmmakers have been boasting about the R rating for this Marvel Comics adaptation from the beginning. That said, this confirms that the studio pulled no punches in crafting this Spider-Man spin-off. It’s going to be bloody, violent and full of language that would make Captain America blush.

The MPAA has given Kraven the Hunter an R rating “for strong bloody violence, and language.” The film was originally supposed to hit theaters last year, with the first trailer arriving online more than a year ago. But it has been delayed several times, first due to the SAG strike. Then, Sony decided to do some shuffling with the release calendar. They ultimately decided that this one might fare better in December when there’s less direct competition.

The film is based on the famed Spider-Man villain of the same name. Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Bullet Train) stars in the lead role. While plot details are largely being kept under wraps, we know the villain Rhino will also be involved. The cast also includes Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Fred Hechinger (Butcher’s Crossing), Alessandro Nivola (Jurassic Park III), Christopher Abbott (Poor Things) and Russell Crowe (Thor: Love and Thunder).

Here is the synopsis for Karven the Hunter.

“Kraven the Hunter is the visceral story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Set before his notorious vendetta with Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the titular character in the R-rated film.”

R-rated comic book movies have become more frequent in recent years. Most recently, Deadpool & Wolverine shattered records at the box office as the first R-rated movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Kraven is part of Sony’s Marvel universe, which isn’t technically part of the MCU. It includes movies like Venom, Morbius and this year’s Madame Web, which is one of the biggest flops of the year. Though it did have something of a second life on Netflix.

It’s entirely possible that Kraven could be the end of these Spider-Man villain spin-off films as we know them. Venom: The Last Dance is due to hit theaters in October, bringing Tom Hardy’s trilogy to an end. With Morbius and Madame Web flopping, Sony has yet to produce another hit using this strategy. If Kraven also fails to impress, it may be back to the drawing board.

J.C. Chandor (Triple Frontier) is in the director’s chair for this one. Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway co-wrote the screenplay. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and David Householter are on board as producers.