I Accidentally Spoiled a Comic to Someone and Feel Bad

I was on Reddit and in a comic group, saw someone asking if, "Kraven's Last Hunt," was a story worth checking out, and if they needed to read anything else to understand it. I commented it was a fantastic story and Marvel should have let Kraven stay dead afterward instead of bringing him back (he dies by suicide at the end, having defeated Spider-Man in a fight and thinking he accomplished his goal of being the best hunter ever). They commented something along the lines of, "Oh, thanks for the spoiler, I guess," and I suddenly realized, despite the title and the fact that the story is decades old, they didn't realize what happened, and I'd wrecked any surprise. I felt bad, even though one could argue that when a movie/comic/show has existed for years, folks shouldn't be surprised to stumble upon spoilers. The thing is, I kind of made them trip over the spoiler by putting it right in their way--to stick to the metaphor. 

I apologized, and they said it was okay. They still plan to read the popular Spider-Man versus Kraven story from the 1980s, which I would argue is the best Kraven storyline ever--they should've let him stay dead after it for real. Still, I do feel guilty for destroying any element of surprise. It reminds me of a film class where we all were assigned a popular movie to view and report upon. I picked, "Citizen Kane," as it was incredibly ahead of its time and still an impressive piece of cinema. I was going to discuss at the end of my report how the flick reveals what the mysterious, "Rosebud," mentioned at the start of the movie by Orson Welles' character is, but the whole class erupted in people yelling, "Don't spoil it!" Really? You all are going to run out and watch a movie from 1941, now, because my report got you so interested? 

In that situation, I was a bit amused by how reticent people were to have anything revealed as if they were going to go see, "Citizen Kane," right away. That said, the situation with, "Kraven's Last Hunt,' is clearly a bit different, and I am somewhat the bad guy in this case. I'm sorry, fellow Reddit user, I didn't mean to spoil it. "Kraven's Last Hunt," or, "Citizen Kane," are both worth checking out, however.

Film Friday: The Latest, "Kraven," Movie Trailer Looks Legitimately Entertaining, Wildly Enough

The movies Sony has made kinda-sorta set in the same Universe as Spider-Man have been incredibly hit-or-miss. The, "Venom," flicks were good fun and have made lots of money. "Morbius," was decent enough but underperformed. Then, "Madame Web," bombed harder than even the biggest pessimists would have predicted. Now, we've got, "Kraven," on the way this December after being delayed back during all the entertainment industry strikes. The trailers don't really make it look connected to Spider-Man at all besides one villain (The Rhino) but it actually does look kind of fun, surprisingly enough? Observe the newest trailer below:

Aaron Taylor-Johnson was Quicksilver in the MCU, but here he is Kraven, a hunter of sorts who goes after bad guys. It's a bit of a tweak from the comic origin but workable. The new trailer is incredibly bloody and makes it clear this is an R-rated event. That doesn't sell me on the movie any more or less, but the extreme gore and general plot (A hunter who hunts the other hunters) does give this the vibe of a late-80s/early 90's action film but with modern-age special effects, which again, sounds genuinely like it could be entertaining.

If it weren't for Sony shoehorning in the Spider-Man-adjacent ideas this may very well have stood on its own as a decent action and adventure movie, but due to its orbit around Spidey that could impact how much this thing succeeds or fails in theaters. If it is as good and over-the-top a time as it appears, I hope it can find its audience niche. We'll see what happens this December.

The, "Kraven," Trailer Makes the Movie Seem Suitably Entertaining

A clip of the trailer for the upcoming, "Kraven," movie leaked online so Sony went ahead and released the full version. It looks like it might be fun as a high-budget take on an ultraviolent B-movie featuring a guy who fights mobsters with vaguely animal-related powers. When a movie featuring Spider-Man's villain Kraven was announced, I asked, "Why?" in a post. Then I was intrigued by the news that the movie would be rated R due to featuring Kraven being quite violent with the folks he fights. As Sony is making this flick instead of Disney (who really shy away from R-rated hero stuff besides the upcoming, "Deadpool 3," or such) it seems to be in the same Universe as their other sorta-related-to-Spidey fare such as, "Venom," and, "Morbius." This looks a lot more serious than either flick but still pretty fun if you want to watch Aaron Taylor-Johnson violently kill bad guys. He's getting a lot more use out of his muscles and acting talent here than when he briefly played Quicksilver in the MCU, that's for sure. Check out the trailer below and I'll share some more thoughts:

See? It looks like a good time with a silly plot and lots of action--multiple times dudes burst through windows, that's kinda cool! I don't know if this will manage to tie in at all with recent Spider-Man stuff but even if it doesn't I like seeing a take on the Rhino popping up too. Even if this version of Kraven is different from the one in the comics (this Kraven relates to animals in some odd fashion, the comic-book iteration just hunted them) it just seems fun and mostly serious but with a little wink as opposed to being outright telling constant jokes like some MCU properties. Oh, and Russell Crowe is in this too as the evil Dad. He's a pretty good, "Get," for such a random movie This could flop, hard, or turn out to be surprisingly popular in the same manner the, "Venom," flicks managed. I'm just hoping it is as entertaining as this preview hints it might be.

In News That Kind of Surprised Me, The, "Kraven," Movie is Going to be Rated R

Superhero movies (especially Marvel ones) as of late tend to be strictly PG-13 affairs. People get shot but there isn't a ton of blood. Characters kiss but never get naked. The word, "Fuck," is only hinted-at or maybe spoken once. There are exceptions in the form of cheeky ol' Deadpool and the movie, "Logan," was extremely R-rated. Those weren't even in the MCU, however, so until, "Deadpool 3," that is still all PG-13 or so Universe. Oh, and the recent, "Suicide Squad," was a DC endeavor as well as the, "Joker," movie--so maybe DC is testing the waters with edgier stuff, but this post is mainly about Marvel-related projects. Anyway, Sony has its own take on a chunk of Marvel characters affiliated with Spider-Man and it seems they've decided to let the, "Kraven," adaptation move in a decidedly violent direction. Yep, it is gonna be rated R.

Kraven--in the comics--is a famous hunter who decides to hunt Spider-Man. At one point he killed himself after thinking there is nothing left to hunt but he was brought back because almost nobody stays dead in comics. He's still kicking around the comics now, occasionally getting in fights with heroes or such. The movie will apparently have him as more of a defender of animals, hunting poachers instead of the critters they want to kill. Some preview footage was shown at an event known as, "CinemaCon," and it featured Kraven brutally killing dudes and even biting a nose off. Apparently, another Spidey villain, Rhino, is hinted at too. 

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven.
And no, you're not crazy, he was also the MCU's Quicksilver.

The footage hasn't leaked or anything so we're all going by anecdotes from people who saw the clips, but I'm just surprised a violent comic-book flick is happening like we're back in the era of, "Blade," "Punisher: War Zone," or the so-so, "Watchmen," movie. Now, it is easy for movies with superheroes to be violent, but I wonder if Sony will shy away from anything too sexual because American audiences do love watching gore but can't stand the sight of a nipple. I wouldn't imagine Sony plans to push the envelope that much. Time will tell if we get to watch Kraven brutally murder poachers and swing his dong around though. That would be an interesting bullet point when they're hyping the production, for sure.

Why a, "Kraven," Movie?

I've been wrong about movies before. I predicted, "Venom," would flop only to find it--and the sequel--did gangbusters at the box office. The, "Venom," movies were actually pretty solid too. Now, "Morbius," did get a lukewarm box office take, but the star (Jared Leto) has fans split between those who like him or hate him, and the movie apparently was just kind of meh (it spawned a lot of memes, though). Therefore, when I ask why we are getting a, "Kraven," movie I am perhaps being overly negative and it'll be a hit. That said, Kraven, really?

Kraven's whole gimmick is that he is a dude who likes to hunt stuff. I can only think of two good Kraven stories off the top of my head. "Kraven's Last Hunt," which resulted in him dying for a number of years after he thought he had, "Defeated," Spider-Man and proven himself the best hunter ever. Then, in the modern age we've got when he popped-up in, "The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl," almost more as a form of comedic relief than a villain. We are getting a Kraven movie though that may very well tie in a bit with, "Venom," and, "Morbius," as Sony seemingly attempts to set up a group of villains (they have the rights to) who will go up against Spider-Man at some point. Still, why a, "Kraven," movie? I guess I could also ask why we're getting an, "El Muerto," flick as well even though in the end the answer is, "Because Sony has these characters and wants to make money with them." Fair enough.

Film Friday: Sony Is Making Some Random Spidey-Related Flicks

 

Sony owns the rights to characters that relate to Spider-Man. They've shared with Disney/Marvel so that everyone at both companies can cheer as money falls from the ceiling as if it were a game show. Seriously, the last Spidey flick was especially bonkers in how much it made. However, Sony does have its own flicks that can essentially acknowledge Spider-Man but not always the MCU, maybe? There might be a separate Universe? It is still unclear exactly how the rules work, but Sony is doing its own thing too with stuff like Venom, Morbius, a Kraven movie incoming, Madame Web, and now...El Muerto?

Yes, El Muerto is a character who appeared in a couple of, "Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man," comics some years ago...then was never heard from again. He's going to be in a movie with musician Bad Bunny playing him. This was announced at the same time Sony mentioned the no-brainer of, "Venom III." People went from saying, "Of course!" to even those who know deep-cut characters that have interacted with Spider-Man scratching their heads and saying, "Huh?" I thought making a Madame Web movie was digging heavily into a list of Spidey's friends & foes, but this is as deep a dive as there ever was. If the movie will be good I don't mind by any means how random a character is getting a film, however. I'll just take some quality entertainment.