Summary
In 2014,The Amazing Spider-Man 2debuted a disastrous redesign of the iconicMarvelvillain Rhino - butKraven the Hunteris about to answer the misstep perfectly. Now thatDeadpool & Wolverinehas hit theaters, the remainder of 2024 is entirely in the hands of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, asVenom: The Last DanceandKraven the Huntercomprise the rest of2024’s Marvel movie releases.Kraven the Hunterwill round out the year on August 08, 2025, after its release date was pushed back once again from August 30.
This is the thirddelay thatKraven the Hunterhas been subject toafter its initially intended release date of January 2023. The reasons for the delay are myriad, though Producer Matt Tolmach suggested that this latest was to capitalize on Christmas viewership. The delays shouldn’t come as a surprise, however, with Sony’suniversally pannedMadame Webplacing extra pressure on the studio’s next two Marvel movies to stick the landing and prove that Spider-Man’s mythos is in capable hands. In this regard, things are at least looking positive with Rhino.
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Kraven the Hunter Cast & Marvel Character Guide
Kraven the Hunter, part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, introduces various Marvel villains played by veteran superhero actors and rising talents.
Kraven’s Rhino Finally Revealed In Sony’s New Trailer
A Full Look At The Sony Live-Action Rhino Has Been Unveiled
A new trailer forKraven the Hunterhas showcased the level of violence to expect from its R-rating as Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Sergei Kravinoff tears through enemies with extreme prejudice. It also provided a first look at Alessandro Nivola’s Aleksei Sytsevich, AKA Rhino, wreaking havoc and proving to be a far greater challenge for Kraven than nameless grunts.Early shots show Systevich manifesting a thick, rocky skin before later ones depict him fully transformed in his Rhino guiseand totaling a speeding truck.
Everything We Know About Sony’s Kraven The Hunter Movie
Here’s all the details and information known so far for Sony’s upcoming Kraven the Hunter solo film, featuring one of Spider-Man’s deadliest foes.
From the trailer footage, it appears that Systevich’s Rhino boasts the ability to manifest his powers at will, changing his skin to become near-indestructible to the point that it can crumple a large vehicle. This is a diversion from the Rhino of Marvel Comics, whose thick skin is instead a skin-tight suit of armor designed to offer an immense level of resistance and enhance his strength to superhuman levels and is used in conjunction with similar, gamma-induced powers of his own. Nevertheless, this slight change is far more forgivable than the route Sony took inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2.
The New Rhino Finally Wipes Out Paul Giamatti’s Robo-Rhino Monstrosity
Kraven The Hunter’s Rhino Is Very Different To The Amazing Spider-Man 2’s Version
Sony first debuted theRhino inThe Amazing Spider-Man 2, Andrew Garfield’s ill-fated second solo outing in the titular role. This version of the iconic Spider-Man villain was portrayed by Paul Giamatti, who bookended the sequel with two fleeting appearances as an unhinged criminal with a penchant for armored vehicles. The movie’s climax saw Giamatti pilot a vaguely rhino-shaped suit of armor more akin to a robo-tank than the skintight suit it was ostensibly adapting from the comics.The CGI, meanwhile, was impossibly distracting and drew significant criticismat the time.
The Amazing Spider-Manand its sequel were distributed by Sony but are not part of its new shared universe, which began withVenom.
While a bipedal vehicle is slightly more believable than a more comic-accurate suit, it was too far a stretch to appease Marvel Comics fans. Now that the MCU has established that comic book accuracy sticks the landing more reliably than a more grounded interpretation of Marvel’s outlandish outfits, Sony appears to be rectifying its past mistakes by makingKraven the Hunter’s Rhino at least a little more faithful to the comics. Unfortunately, it isn’t entirely out of the woods yet, as one shot from the trailer reveals what might be a brand-new sticking point for Rhino.
Rhino’s Face Is The One Thing Letting The New Design Down
Rhino’s CGI Face Could Present Problems
Despite CGI coming on leaps and bounds since 2014,Kraven the Hunterstill threatens to commit the cardinal movie sin of venturing down the uncanny valley. In Marvel Comics, having Systevich don a suit means that his face is exposed from within a horned cowl - a quintessential design that has persisted for decades since Rhino debuted in 1966. Yet withKraven the Hunteropting to make Rhino’s impervious skin a natural phenomenon, Systevich’s face will seemingly be subjected to heavy CGI as it transforms with the rest of his skin.
As the MCU helped to prove as recently asAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniawith its depiction of MODOK,rendering an actor’s face with CGI rarely works well. With that in mind, Rhino’s face inKraven the Hunteris at risk of being a huge distraction that might hamper what is otherwise a step in the right direction for Sony. At least there is still time for Sony to prove Rhino’s design is good enough over the next few months with a closer look ahead of the release ofKraven the Hunterin December.
Kraven the Hunter
Cast
Kraven the Hunter explores the origin story of Sergei Kravinoff, known as Kraven, as he navigates his tumultuous relationship with his father, Nikolai. This path of vengeance sets Kraven on a journey to become a formidable hunter with a reputation for fearsome brutality.
