Violent ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Trailer Marks Sony’s First R-Rated Marvel Film

With a name like Kraven the Hunter, many fans are expecting to see blood and the occasional gore. However, Sony is going a step further to slap an R-rating on the film, its first on a Marvel one.

Kraven the Hunter dropped its first teaser footage at Las Vegas’ CinemaCon, and it was brutal, much to the delight of Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron, Godzilla), who gleefully confirmed the film’s rating.

“F–k yeah, it will be rated R,” the star said to huge applause from the Colosseum Theater at Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino.

Sony confirmed that the returning Marvel actor has indeed traded in his spandex for Kraven’s signature furs and, of course, fantastic hair.

Blood painted the screen red in the trailer that followed as Kraven shredded his victims with primitive claw-like weapons and embodied the beasts he slays to rip his prey’s throat out with his teeth.

Kraven the Hunter originated from the Marvel comic books but has never graced the small or big screen. The character, a former Soviet soldier whose love of hunting went a little too far, often clashed with Spider-Man to collect the web-slinger’s head. 

Oscar winners Russell Crowe (The Pope’s Exorcist, Thor: Love and Thunder) and Ariana DeBose (West Side Story, Hamilton) will be joining the hunting party along with Christopher Abbott (The Sinner, Girls) and Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off, The Many Saints of Newark). Whether they will be prey or predator still hangs in the air.

This J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, Viper Club) project, which Taylor-Johnson has revealed is “grounded heavily in the real world,” will be co-produced by Avi Arad (Venom, Morbius) and Matt Tolmach (The Amazing Spider-Man, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). It follows a script written by Art Marcum (Iron Man, Uncharted), Matt Holloway (Men in Black: International, Transformers: The Last Knight) and Richard Wenk (The Equalizer, The Expendables 2).

Kraven the Hunter will be in theatres on 6 October 2023.