Sony's upcoming Kraven movie is reportedly set to break the Marvel-Sony runtime record.
Kraven the Hunter, starring Avengers: Age of Ultron actor Aaron Taylor Johnson, is finally set to stalk its way into theaters this December after more than a year of delays.
The film is the latest entry into Sony's villain-themed Spider-Man universe, following in the footsteps of movies like Venom and Madame Web. Instead of focusing on the iconic wall-crawler himself, the movie will recount the origins of one of the character's iconic villains, Kraven the Hunter, super-powered or not.
Kraven Is Breaking Records Already
According to a new report, Kraven the Hunter will be the longest Marvel-Sony movie released in the Sony Pictures Spider-Man Universe (SSMU).
Insider Daniel Richtman revealed the information as a part of one of his recent Patreon posts, writing that he had heard the movie will sport a runtime of 119 minutes and 30 seconds when it hits theaters on December 13.
This breaks the record for the longest SSMU movie to date, eclipsing the mark that was set mere months ago by Madame Web.
Kraven will beat Madame Web by just over three minutes, with the latter coming in at only 116 minutes long.
It is worth noting that a similar report emerged in the weeks leading up to the release of Venom: The Last Dance, saying it would be the longest movie in the franchise; however, that ultimately turned out to be false.
Typically, the SSMU films have all maintained a relatively short runtime when compared to other titles in the genre, all coming in at under two hours long. Kraven will still get in under that two-hour mark, but just barely, keeping the streak alive for the studio and franchise.
Below is a full list of SSMU films and their runtimes for comparison:
- Venom (2018) - 112 minutes
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) - 97 minutes
- Morbius (2022) - 104 minutes
- Madame Web (2024) - 116 minutes
- Venom: The Last Dance (2024) - 109 minutes
- Kraven the Hunter (2024) - 119 minutes
Will Kraven Be the Last SSMU Movie?
With Kraven the Hunter mere weeks away from coming to theaters, Sony Pictures will round out what has been a record-setting year for its Spider-Man-adjacent universe.
While the movies released have not been the most well-received, either critically or at the box office (read more about Madame Web's bad reviews here), Sony has managed to outdo even Marvel Studios this year in terms of the sheer number of its releases.
With Madame Web, Venom 3, and (now) Kraven all in the books, that marks three films released in the SSMU in a single calendar year, setting a new benchmark for the studio and franchise.
However, it looks as though this 2024 trio of releases will be an outlier for Sony rather than the start of a new trend for the movie-making giant.
As it stands, there are currently no publicly known SSMU movies announced beyond Kraven, leaving the future of the franchise hanging in the balance.
According to some of the brass behind the films, there are plans for future movies; they just have not been officially revealed to the public as of yet.
Speaking in the lead-up to Venom 3, director and writer Kelly Marcel hinted that Venom 3 big bad Knull is being set up for more movie appearances. She told fans at New York Comic-Con that theVenom threequel is "just a little taster of Knull" and they would "never do one-and-done with him:"
"This is just the introduction to Knull. Obviously, he's a massive, massive character, so you could never do one-and-done with him. So this is just a little taster of Knull. You'll get to meet him, and then what the future holds for him, who knows?"
This comes as reports of an Agent Venom movie have started to make their way online, potentially setting up where the SSMU will go next once Kraven is in the rearview.
Sony has also finally confirmed it is working with Marvel Studios again on the upcoming Spider-Man 4 starring Tom Holland; however, that series of films remains separate (at least for now) from Sony's villain-focused universe.
All that is to say, while the future of Sony's Spider-Man Universe remains a bit murky, it certainly seems as though there are some plans in place, it is just a matter of when they will be revealed.
Kraven the Hunter comes to theaters on December 13.
