Aaron Taylor Johnson in Columbia Pictures and Marvel KRAVEN THE HUNTER
Kraven the Hunter is set to be the final release in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (‘SPUMC’).
The Wrap‘s report came shortly after a rather embarrassing turnout for Sony Pictures’ impending release of Kraven the Hunter, with a surprise panel for the film at Brazil’s Comic Con Experience (CCXP) playing exclusive footage to practically nobody, according to a fan in attendance, despite the convention hosting hundreds of thousands of fans. “The biggest issue with the Sony Spider-Man spinoffs seems to be the lack of quality control. The movies just aren’t good,” an insider at Sony Pictures told The Wrap. “Sometimes that lack of quality meets a movie no one asked for, which was the case with ‘Madame Web,’ and that is a no-win scenario. It may be time for Sony to start cultivating different IP to launch new franchises.”
This insider’s comments leave me wondering – why wasn’t this insider a part of Sony Pictures’ development team for the shared universe? They seem to be the only employee with any sense of understanding. After a slog of uneventful, meaningless, and quite terrible movies, I’m left asking: “What was the point?”. What was Sony’s plan, and was there one? To me, these movies were made just for the sake of releasing something to hog the film rights to Spider-Man, and prevent them from returning to the rightful owners and quite capable hands at Marvel Studios.
Sony’s development of these movies was in a part, a selfish practice. According to insider Daniel RPK back in August, whenever Sony Pictures decides to use one of Spider-Man’s side characters in a movie of their own, Marvel Studios is blocked from using that character in one of their own movies, including the Sony-collaborated Spider-Man movies.
This was certainly the case back in 2016, when Black Panther director Ryan Coogler wanted the character of Kraven the Hunter to have his theatrical debut as the main antagonist of the billion-dollar grossing Black Panther (2018), before spinning off as the villain in a future Spider-Man movie. Sony said no, wanting the character for themselves, only to shelve him for six years, and ultimately make a solo film, changing the infamous villain into a hero, with a completely unfaithful origin story, throwing out the enhanced hunter in lieu of a man with lion blood?
The same seemed to happen in 2022, in a much stranger situation, when Michael Keaton’s Vulture (AKA Adrian Toomes), who had previously appeared in the Marvel Studios-collaborated Spider-Man: Homecoming, had been absurdly and literally snatched from that universe through an unexplained portal, and dumped into the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters in the post credits scene of Morbius, where he met the titular character, and suggested making a “team” to “do some good”, which was never followed up on, and hopefully never will be. Through the supposed deal leaks from Daniel RPK, this move would have prevented Marvel Studios from ever using the Vulture character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe again, when it seemed quite clear from his first outing that he’d later be used in as a member of an MCU-proper Sinister Six.
In short, Sony’s terrible attempt at a shared universe made unconventional and directionless casting choices, some of whom have publicly, and rather bluntly, refused to return for future releases, including the obvious Sinister Six movie Sony has been desperate to develop for the last decade; the studio ruined 2014’s Amazing Spider-Man 2 with setup for multiple villains shoved in, only to later try the MCU’s approach, creating solo films that would later crossover in an ensemble movie.
I was actually quite impressed with what Sony managed to achieve with the uniformity in their releases. Marvel Studios made it thirteen years without a single ‘rotten’ rated release on critic aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, while Sony Pictures has managed to release six movies, all of which are rated rotten, with half rated below 15%. Truly, that is a surprisingly impressive feat, and it is no wonder why Sony opted not to host critic screenings or premieres in the UK for several of their recent Marvel-based releases.
Dear Sony, sit back, collect your cheques, and let Marvel handle it.
Sony’s only taste of success was when they tricked casual audiences into believing their releases were a part of the successful Marvel Cinematic Universe. Now, audiences have caught on, and refuse to be scammed of their hard-earned money. The gig is over, and Sony knows it.
Watch the first eight minutes of Kraven the Hunter below:
Kraven the Hunter will be released in cinemas on 13th December 2024.
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