Is Sony learning from their mistakes? Kraven the Hunter's latest news may be proof that's the case

It's been a long and grueling road for the greatest hunter alive to have his big-screen debut. When Kraven the Hunter was first announced, it had an original release date of January 13, 2023. Unfortunately, the movie was pushed back to October 6, 2023, and later to August 30, 2024, due to the SAG-AFTRA Strike. But just when everything seemed to be set in stone came one last delay from August to December. If it wasn't for that, then we'd be just days away from finally watching Sony's upcoming movie.

The original reason behind that final shift in dates was so that Kraven The Hunter could be released in the holiday window, as revealed by Producer Matt Tolmach in an interview with Collider:

"Kraven moved to Christmas because we are excited about it and Christmas is the best release period there is when you get people with time to go back to the movies over and over again."

- Matt Tolmach

However, that was just one part of the story. As it turns out, there was also another major reason behind this delay that makes even more sense. And if Sony played its cards right, then it may have allowed for a better, more polished movie.

Kraven The Hunter was delayed to avoid Madame Web's fate

As revealed by Collider, Kraven The Hunter was given a little more time in the oven so that director J. C. Chandor could have a little bit more time to polish the plot and the characters of the movie. That way, the new Spider-Man-villain project would be less likely to repeat the mistakes of the ill-fated Madame Web.

Sony seems satisfied with Kraven's most recent reshoots, as they have officially picked a script written by J.C. Chandor which he's also set to direct. That's a good sign, especially since they are confident Kraven the Hunter could be as much of a successful franchise as Venom. All signs seem to indicate the film J.C. Chandor has crafted has every right to take us all by surprise.

Is Sony finally learning from their mistakes?

For as much as we've had some amazing Spider-Man movies over the years, Sony is usually clueless as to what to do with Spider-Man and his supporting characters. Sure, the Venom franchise has found a lot of success at the box office. Besides, it is considered by fans as a genuinely fun time. However, it is the one exception of multiple failed projects including the likes of Madame Web, Morbius, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Besides, they have also canceled many live-action adaptations such as Drew Goddard's Sinister Six and Silver & Black.

Even then, they seem keen on repeating their mistakes no matter how much they fall short. We all know how Spider-Man 3 had too many characters and felt a bit of a mess - ultimately bringing Sam Raimi's franchise to an end. Well, what about doing the same and even going the extra mile with The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Fan feedback seems to be overlooked in most of their projects, but this is one of the first instances where try to avoid previous mistakes.

Granted, it took a long way to get to this point. But if we're finally here, then it could mean good news for future Spider-Man projects. If Kraven The Hunter succeeds due to the extra time to polish the script, then maybe that could be the norm moving forward. After all, we know their Spider-Man villain franchise is far from over, so it's better to have polished movies with a little care than just cash grabs.

Of course, all this argument falls apart if Kraven The Hunter premieres to underwhelming reactions. So we'll have to wait a little bit more time to see if the Spider-Man franchise could finally head in a good direction or not.

Kraven The Hunter releases on December 13, 2024