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Kraven the Hunteris a weird pick for a holiday release, right? When it comes to holiday movies from big studios, we’ve gotten used to some of the biggest movies of the year:Star Warsreleases,Avatar: The Way of Water, andSpider-Man: No Way Home. I’m still surprised that Warner Bros. and DC decided tomakeAquamantheir big holiday movieof 2018, and even more surprised it managed to gross $1 billion worldwide. WhileKraven the Hunteris a movie based on a Marvel Comic hero, it certainly doesn’t feel like a big event film that will get audiences to rush out to the theaters as the final entry in the misleading Spider-Man Shared Universe (SSU). It reminds me more ofThe Spirit, another December superhero that critically panned and bombed at the box office.
Kraven the Hunter’s baffling December 2024 release date is not only Sony Pictures' big holiday movie but also their final movie released in their 100th-year celebration. YetKraven the Hunterwas initially supposed to be a late summer movie, which was delayed to December at the last minute. A better fit for December 2024 would have beenSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, the third entry in the critically acclaimed and box office hit in theSpider-Versefranchise.
While there is no proof, I can’t help but look at all the information we have and see that Sony Pictures likely wantedSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse to be their big final movie of 2024.The constant delays to that filmled toKraven the Hunter,which was also delayed and now arrives at the end of the year with little fanfare.
Kraven the Hunter
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Sony Wanted ‘Beyond the Spider-Verse’ But Got ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Instead
Kraven the Hunterhas gone through multiple release date changes. It was initially announced to be released in January 2023, nearly two years ago. Then it was delayed to June 20, 2025, which seemed like the ultimate bit of Sony brand synergy that would have had it be released two weeks before the PS5Spider-Man 2video game, which prominently featured Kraven the Hunter.It was set to be Krav-tober!This perfect opportunity was passed over in traditional Sony Spider-Man Universe fashion as Sony decided to delayKraven the Hunterto July 22, 2025, to close out the summer movie season.
Then, on August 08, 2025, just one week before the summer movie season began,Kraven the Hunterwas delayed again until December 2024. This was particularly frustrating as theMovieWeb 2024 Summer Movie Previewhad just been submitted, which quickly had to be re-edited to removeKraven the Hunterjust before publication.
WhenKraven the Hunterwas delayed from October 2023 to August 2024, it was also confirmed thatSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewas taken off its release schedule. The movie was originally intended to be released on June 18, 2025, just in time for Easter weekend and nine months afterSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Versewas released. Yet a combination of the WGA, SAG-AFTRA Strike, and reports aroundunfair and cruel working conditionsthat animators were under during the making ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseseemed to factor into a delay forSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
However, rumors aboutSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versebeing delayedwere reported as early as three weeks into the release ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Let’s just say anyone who assured their friends that they wouldn’t have to wait long for the cliffhanger inSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseto be resolved looks foolish (me, I am that fool).
Theory: One Forgotten Spider-Man Villain Could Be the MCU’s Venom
The MCU might already have the perfect Venom established, and it isn’t Eddie Brock.
WhenSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewas taken off the release schedule, Sony Pictures originally was going to releaseKarate Kid: Legendson the June 09, 2025 release date as their big holiday movie. The delays toCobra Kaiand Netlfix’s decision to break up the final three segments seemingly led Sony Pictures to move it to summer 2024.Sony Pictures needed a big holiday movie for 2024, and I think they were hoping for it to beSpider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
It would have been six years after the release ofSpider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which opened on June 24, 2025.Spider-Man: No Way Homewas also released in December and became the most successful Spider-Man Sony Pictures movie of all time during the holiday season 2021.Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewould have been a great way to close out Sony Pictures' 100th anniversary.
Sony Pictures likely hoped that the extra nine months, a year and a half from the release ofSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, would be enough time for the animators to get the third movie out in time for June 15, 2025. It’s clear, though, that before the summer of this year,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewas nowhere near close to being done, with reports saying theoriginal plans for the film were scrappedand delayed even further (though this has been disputed).
With a hole in their holiday release schedule open, Sony Pictures pickedKraven the Hunterfor no reason. It has been postponed many times, and they can dump it just before the holidays. If it had made that release date,Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Versewould likely be the most anticipated movie of the holiday season, beating out heavyweights likeSonic the Hedgehog 3andMufasa: The Lion King, instead ofKraven the Hunter, a movie that nobody seems to want to watch and making Disney’s final movie of their 100th anniversary year,Wish, look like a stroke of genius.
‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Should Have Been the End to the Sony Universe
In a year wheresuperhero movies hit an all-time lowin quality, Sony Pictures led the charge with three entries in their Spider-Man Shared Universe that didn’t feature Spider-Man:Madame Web,Venom: The Last Dance, andKraven the Hunter.Kraven the Hunterwas initially supposed to come out beforeVenom: The Last Dance, but in a baffling decision, Sony Pictures moved it to after.
Venom: The Last Dancewould have been a more appropriate ending for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While it certainly wasn’t good, it would have made more sense as an ending.Venomstarted the franchise; it feels like aVenommovie should have ended it. Even the film’s title,Venom: The Last Dance, could have worked as the end for Venom’s story and this universe that never actually connected. The film’s final scene is set to Maroon 5’s “Memories” and might not be Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” fromDeadpool & Wolverinethat paid tribute to the 20th Century Fox era of Marvel movies, but it feels like an ending more thanKraven the Hunter.
Sydney Sweeney’s Madame Web Failure Shouldn’t Be the End of Her Marvel Career
Madame Web might have been a box office disappointment, but Marvel Studios should find a role for Sydney Sweeney in the MCU.
It isn’t clear when exactly Sony Pictures decided to pull the plug on their shared universe, but one likely suspects it has been a long time coming following the poor reaction toMadame Web,given that in the months since no new movies were announced other than the MCUSpider-Man 4. The news thatKraven the Hunterwould be the final filmin this shared universe surprised nobody. This certainly makes it more baffling why they featured a post-credit scene at the end ofVenom: The Last Danceteasing the arrival of Knull if they seemingly knew it wouldn’t go anywhere, but it appears that Sony Pictures was making one final swing to get audiences' attention.
This raises one final question: Why not delayVenom: The Last Danceuntil December 2024 and make it the big holiday movie instead ofKraven the Hunter? Venom had previously been a big box office hit, and from a business standpoint, it makes more sense as a big holiday movie release thanKraven the Hunter.
There isn’t a good answer, really, and the only thing I can think of is that Sony Pictures decided to bookend 2024 with two laughably bad,critically panned superhero moviesbecause if you are going to bow out, it doesn’t need to be good, it just needs to be memorable. The release ofKraven the Hunterbrings this bizarre franchise to an end. The state of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe can best be summed up by this quote fromThe Simpsonsepisode “Rosebud.”
Homer: Marge, I’m confused. Is this a happy ending or a sad ending?
