What Spider-Man Spinoff Kraven Means for Future R-Rated Marvel Movies

The tides of comic book cinema are turning. Monday night, Sony confirmed Kraven the Hunter is going to be rated R, joining the small cadre of adult-oriented superhero films that includes the likes of Deadpool and The Suicide Squad. According to those in attendance at CinemaCon 2023, the first footage of the Aaron Taylor-Johnson-starring film showed the eponymous hunter ripping the eyeball from a mercenary’s skull with nothing but his teeth. Suffice it to say, Sony’s taking the movie to a place few dare to tread in the era of the modern comic book blockbuster.

Some might say it could even cause a sizable shift in the rest of the landscape should the film perform admirably at the box office. If a studio like Sony, whose fledgling Spider-Man Universe continues to churn out decent cash despite widely-panned features, other studios—say Marvel Studios—could use their formula to turn a hefty box office haul into R-rated pictures geared toward adults.

Is Marvel Studios ever going to do R-rated movies?

For a long time, it was assumed the Kevin Feige-led outfit would stray far away from R-rated films and television shows. Then Disney acquired Fox and its Deadpool franchise, which struck box office gold with its gory, potty-mouthed recipe. Not just that, but Marvel Studios soon thereafter announced it was also developing Marvel Zombies as a more mature series, which is said to carry a TV-MA rating. Though Feige himself has long seemed cool on the idea of R-rated films, the producer has seemingly started to warm to the idea in recent interviews.

“It’s amazing. And we’ve got Hugh Jackman coming back for our first Deadpool film within the MCU. That’s our first R-rated film. To have Hugh come back is incredible. For me, personally, that is where I started. I remember sitting behind the camera – well behind the camera – at his audition for the film. It was his first on-set audition, and he flew up to Toronto to do a read with Anna Paquin. For him, and for me, and I think for all of the fans of Marvel, it’s unbelievable what has happened in those 23 years. It’s very full-circle having him come back in this new Deadpool film.”

All that said, a significant amount now rests on the shoulders of Kraven the Hunter, one of the few R-rated movies to ever feature a Marvel character.

Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on October 6th.