Director of Kraven the Hunter Urges Fans to Forget Recent Sony Spider-Man Films and “Give Our Film a Chance”

Sony’s Spider-verse has had its fair share of missteps, to put it mildly. Still, J.C. Chandor, the director behind the upcoming Kraven the Hunter, is urging audiences to keep an open mind about his film.

We’ve seen Venom, Morbius, and Madame Web—three films tied to the Spider-Man universe, all under Sony’s banner, and let’s be honest, not exactly hitting the mark. Many would agree on their lackluster performance. Even Chandor acknowledges the lukewarm reception these films have garnered. Yet, he remains optimistic. In a conversation with ComicBook, Chandor admitted that the prior entries didn’t quite impress but appealed to fans to take a chance on his movie.

“I don’t want to delve too much into details,” he explained. “But as a filmmaker, especially in these recent years where you guys are deeply engrossed in this world, it’s been clear that fans weren’t pleased with certain choices in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.” He went on to point out the uneven reception of these films, recommending that fans should try to leave past disappointments behind and give Kraven a fair shot.

Now, Chandor does appear to be glossing over some aspects here; while there have been five live-action Sony Spider-Verse movies, only the Venom ones saw notable success. Notably, Venom is a character with a far more established fan base than Morbius or Madame Web. So, when talking about mixed success, the reality is a bit more nuanced than he suggests.

Nonetheless, Chandor emphasized that the goal for Kraven was to provide a genuinely enjoyable narrative while laying the groundwork for future developments. “We’ve tried to offer fans a compelling story,” he said, hinting at possibilities for future ventures, provided the initial success is there. “We wanted to carve a niche for our film by focusing on a strong story. Then we can explore other exciting opportunities.”

What exactly these opportunities might be is anyone’s speculation. But clearly, they hinge on Kraven the Hunter performing well. We’ll just have to see how things unfold when the film hits theaters on December 13.