The upcoming Kraven the Hunter movie is one of several films planned for Sony's Spider-Man Universe of movies. This amorphous continuity involves various characters related to the Wall-Crawler, namely the villains in his rogues' gallery. Despite how seemingly important the film may be, there's been next to no buzz for it through Sony itself.
The previously delayed film is now slated to release in later 2023, but there's yet to be any promotion. The lack of posters or teasers is alarming, especially considering how stacked the year's film slate is. That could see the movie pushed back even further or have even more detrimental effects on Sony's lineup.
Sony's Kraven the Hunter Has Next to No Promotion
Musings about a Kraven film from Sony began around 2017/2018, with 2018 also seeing the release of Sony's first Venom movie. However, casting wasn't completed until 2022, showing how belated the film really is. Aaron Taylor-Johnson was cast as the titular hunter, though he's one of the few confirmed characters in it. Other characters include Kraven's half-brother Chameleon and his love interest Calypso, with Russell Crowe and Alessandro Nivola also playing unspecified characters. With most of the cast's nature not revealed and even an official synopsis still lacking, there's a lot still up in the air about Kraven the Hunter.
The film was originally slated to release in January 2023 but got pushed back to October of the same year. Fellow Spider-Verse flick Madame Web also saw a delay, and there's still a lot of speculation around that movie. The only footage for Kraven was a reel shown at the 2022 CinemaCon, with no trailer or poster being showcased yet. That's despite the film being months away, with said lack of buzz potentially ruining its box office prospects. It's highly likely that Sony realizes that and doesn't plan on keeping the October release date, though the studios' reasons for doing so could be many.
A Crowded 2023 Could See Kraven the Hunter Pushed Back Again
Once the roll-out of summer blockbusters begins, an outright avalanche of big films will release in 2023. These include Sony's animated feature Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, though Kraven the Hunter might not be so lucky. That is complicated by the recent rescheduling for Marvel Studios films The Marvels, and with the potential long-term financial disappointment of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, too much Marvel at once might now be a bad thing for overstuffed moviegoers. With so little promotion or advertisement, Kraven may get a new release schedule =- and be pushed back further to come out in 2023.
Sony's Spider-Man Universe is currently in a bit of disarray, namely due to audiences (and seemingly the studio itself) not knowing how the films relate to each other in terms of continuity. Add in the absence of Spider-Man, and the shared universe's name feels like some to be more of a cash grab than anything else. That's not even factoring in the notorious reception to 2022's Morbius, which likewise performed tepidly at the box office despite its fairly small budget. It's highly possible that Sony is backing off on their live-action Spider-Verse movie ideas, putting more emphasis on upcoming shows like Spider-Man Noir and Silk: Spider Society.
At the same time, Spider-Man's Marvel Cinematic Universe incarnation has starred in some of the only real hits for that shared universe post-Avengers: Endgame. With rumors circling around the MCU's Spider-Man 4, Sony may be backing off movie-wise entirely in exchange for a tidy sum from Disney. If that's the case, Kraven the Hunter is likely of no real priority to the studio, explaining why it's apparently coming out to less than even a collective whimper.