Having recently been pushed back by eight whole months as the strikes show no signs of slowing down, Kraven the Hunter has been given some breathing room to launch a full-scale marketing campaign to convince the skeptics that it isn’t just another forgettable entry in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
The downside is that the trailer makes it look like it isn’t going to be, with the footage promising all the familiar tropes and trappings we’ve come to expect from the struggling superhero sandbox, with the notable caveat that things are taking a brutal, bloody, and R-rated path this time around.
Whether it manages to buck the trend of a lifetime and deliver a Marvel Comics adaptation from Sony that’s actually good is another matter entirely, but director J.C. Chandor does have a string of acclaimed dramas and thrillers under his belt.
However, in an interview with Esquire, he did admit that he might risk the wrath of the studio’s overlords by describing Kraven the Hunter as a tragedy first and foremost.
“Sony probably doesn’t want me to lead with this. but the story is a tragedy. When the final credits roll on this film, if you’ve been paying attention, you won’t have the feeling that this is all going to end great.”
No offense to the creative team – except maybe the writers who were also responsible for Morbius and Gods of Egypt – but you’d find it hard to believe that Kraven the Hunter is going to be packing a serious emotional punch. Then again, maybe it will, in which case we’ll all be pleasantly surprised.
