The longer the writers and actors’ strikes continued, the more likely it became that studios would begin delaying movies. The reasons for such schedule changes are many, but there are two big ones: Actors and writers can’t work on films right now without crossing picket lines, so if a film needs reshoots, they can’t be completed right now. Or, if a film is ready for release, actors and writers can’t actively promote their work by going on talk shows or podcasts or doing print interviews; those are all considered no-nos during a strike as well. And it’s pretty hard to successfully open a big, expensive movie if you can’t have the beautiful, famous, charismatic stars of said big, expensive movie out there hyping it.
Whatever the specific reasons in this particular case, Sony has decided to push back their upcoming Spider-Man spinoff Kraven the Hunter — and by nearly a year. The film, which stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the longtime Spidey adversary, was originally supposed to open in theaters in October of this year. Now it will not arrive in theaters until the very end of next summer. And that assumes the strikes are resolved in a reasonably timely fashion.
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The Kraven film, directed by J.C. Chandor, will be an origin story of sorts for the character, depicting him as less of a villain (as he is in the comics) and more of a dark avenger of wrongs against animals and nature. Although Spider-Man himself isn’t expected to appear, several other Marvel characters are in the movie, including Calypso (Ariana DeBose), Chameleon (Fred Hechinger), and Rhino (Alessandro Nivola).
Here is the film’s official synopsis:
Kraven the Hunter is the visceral story about how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Set before his notorious vendetta with Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the titular character in the R-rated film.
Kraven the Hunter is now scheduled to open in theaters on August 30, 2024.
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