R-rated Spider-Man movie confirmed by Sony, and it sounds brutal

Sony has officially announced that the upcoming Spider-Man spin-off, Kraven The Hunter, will officially be the first-ever Spider-Man film to receive an R-rating.

The film stars Aaron-Taylor-Johnson as Sergei Kravinoff, also known as Kraven, and will follow the character in his quest to become the greatest hunter in the world, which will put him against another classic Spider-Man villain, The Rhino. It’ll also have no connection to Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, instead being part of the Sony Spider-Man Universe.

While an official trailer hasn’t been released yet, red-band footage was revealed during Sony’s CinemaCon 2023, showing a scene where Kraven violently dispatches a group of poachers, even going so far as to bite one of their noses off, so that R-rating definitely seems deserved.

Spider-Man fans who are only familiar with the movies may be surprised by the R-rating, but those who follow Kraven in the comics will know the hunter is one of the most dangerous and violent villains in Spidey’s rogue-gallery.

His appearance as a normal human being is incredibly deceptive, as he does, in fact, have a few superpowers at his disposal, such as remarkable strength, enhanced senses, endurance and incredible hand-to-hand combat skills. He’s hunted Spider-Man on several occasions and nearly killed the web-head multiple times.

He also uses a wide range of weaponry to take down his targets, such as spears, knives, axes, etc, so you definitely expect some bloodshed when the film comes out.

It’s believed that Spider-Man himself will not be making an appearance in the film, but it’s likely that there’ll at least be a few nods and references to the wall-crawler and his adventures.

The upcoming film isn’t the only appearance he’ll be making this year, as he’s also set to be one of the primary antagonists, alongside Venom, in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 when it launches on PlayStation 5 later in the year.

The film was setback by delays during its production but is now set to reach cinemas on the 6th of October later this year.