If we’ve learned anything from the lackluster box office of Black Adam, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and even Morbius, it’s that superhero movies can bomb if they don’t make their viewers happy. That’s one of the big reasons why Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania dropped like a rock after its opening weekend. But at the first day of CinemaCon, Sony managed to actually create some hype for Kraven the Hunter by confirming that the film is R-rated before showing off some John Wick-style action. And if the final movie lives up to that, it might make fans very happy.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who portrays Kraven in the film, had a colorful way of sharing the news with CinemaCon attendees in a video that he recorded. “Will it be rated R? F*** yes, it’s going to be rated R,” said Taylor-Johnson.
To underscore that point, some of the first footage shown featured Kraven stabbing the Hell out of some big game poachers before taking a bite out of one guy’s face and spitting out the chunk.
RELATED: Russell Crowe Says Kraven the Hunter Is “Unexpectedly Dark”
Much like Morbius and Venom before him, Kraven is being set up as an antihero because he can’t be the bad guy of his own movie. And there’s no Spider-Man for this Spider-Man villain to fight. That’s why the Rhino is apparently the primary adversary for Kraven. In the brief clips that were shown, Rhino appears to physically transform when using his powers. That’s a departure from the comics, where Rhino is trapped in the suit that gives him his powers.
The clips also confirmed that Russell Crowe is playing Kraven’s father, who apparently taught his son how to hunt and kill his prey. Additionally, it appears that Kraven does not get along with his half-brother, Dmitri Smerdyakov (Fred Hechinger), who is better known as the Chameleon in Marvel’s comic book universe.
Finally, there was a brief glimpse of Ariana DeBose as Calypso, the woman that Kraven loves. But it’s unclear if Calypso is a voodoo priestess in this incarnation. She seemed pretty normal compared to everyone else, and she even called Kraven a lunatic.
Kraven the Hunter will hit theaters on Friday October 6.
Are you glad to hear that Kraven the Hunter is R-rated? Tell us what you think in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Amazing Spider-Man Epic Collection: Kraven’s Last Hunt
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