Kraven The Hunter director says it will have an unexpectedly tragic ending

Kraven the Hunter isn't your average superhero film, says director J.C. Chandor.

"Sony probably doesn’t want me to lead with this,” Chandor told Esquire. "but the story is a tragedy. When the final credits roll on this film, if you’ve been paying attention, you won’t have the feeling that this is all going to end great."

According to Chandor, the movie is set long before Kraven and Spider-Man’s first meet; it’s an origin story about young Sergei’s relationship with his gangster father (Russell Crowe). The character’s comic-book fate – a suicide – reportedly defined his and Taylor-Johnson's approach to the film. The film is the first R-rated one in Sony's Marvel universe, which features Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and the upcoming Madame Web and Venom 3.

The cast includes Ariana DeBose as Calypso, Fred Hechinger as Chameleon, Christopher Abbott as the Foreigner, and Alessandro Nivola as the Rhino. Chandor directs from a screenplay Art Marcum (Iron Man), Matt Holloway (Iron Man), and Richard Wenk (The Equalizer).

Kraven the Hunter, aka Sergei Kravinoff, made his first appearance in the 15th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1964 and would go on to co-found the Sinister Six, a collective of supervillains that includes Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Sandman, Electro, and Mysterio, all of whom have made prior appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Kraven the Hunter is set to hit theaters on August 30, 2024, pushed back nearly a year from its original October 6, 2023 release. You can watch the trailer here. For more, check out our list of upcoming Marvel movies and shows.