Kraven the Hunter’s new trailer gives us a dark, gore-filled revenge story

Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train) plays the title character in the forthcoming film Kraven the Hunter.

Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) got off to a strong start with Venom (2018) and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), both of which racked up high box office earnings despite mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. But then the studio foundered badly with a couple of box office flops: 2022’s Morbius and 2024’s Madame Web.

Sony hopes to right the ship with a third Venom film in October (The Last Dance) and the much-delayed Kraven the Hunter this December. We’ve got a new trailer for the latter, leaning heavily into R-rated gore and set to Johnny Cash’s moodily atmospheric “The Man Comes Around.” It’s an entirely different, darker vibe from prior offerings: a revenge narrative rife with violence and daddy issues. Color us intrigued.

Comic book fans are well acquainted with Kraven as one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes, a founding member of the Sinister Six. He’s a Russian immigrant with an aristocratic background who fled his home country when Tsar Nicholas II’s reign collapsed in 1917. He’s a big game hunter with enhanced abilities thanks to ingesting a mysterious potion made from jungle herbs. He’s very hard to injure, has super-human strength, and enhanced sight, hearing, and smell, as well as being a good tactician with excellent hand-to-hand combat skills.

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