Sony’s Kraven the Hunter movie just can’t sit still for very long. It’s moving once again, exiting its August 30th release date and landing on the December 13th 2024 spot vacated by the Karate Kid reboot.
At least this move seems to be a calculated decision. Kraven the Hunter was originally meant to open in January 2023, but was then moved to October 2023 before landing in the Labor Day weekend slot it just exited. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the Spider-Man villain, with Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Christopher Abbott, and Alessandro Nivola co-starring. JC Chandor directs from a screenplay by Richard Wenk.
It’s possible Sony moved Kraven so it would be the only R-rated option for moviegoers in a crowded holiday season. They have struggled to make much headway with their Spidey spinoffs outside of the successful Venom movies. Both Morbius and the recent Madame Web have been seen as high-profile embarrassments for the studio.
As for The Karate Kid reboot, it heads to May 30th 2025, and that could be a plus move. Now, it’ll arrive after the sixth and final season of Netflix’s Cobra Kai series, which was delayed due to the strike. While there aren’t supposed to be any outright connections between the projects creatively, you can bet they will play to one another’s audience.
Karate Kid will star Ben Wang in the titular role, joined by the O.G. Ralph Macchio of the 1984 classic (and Cobra Kai) and Jackie Chan of the 2010 reboot. They’re joined by Joshua Jackson, Sadie Stanley, Ming-Na Wen, Aramis Knight, and Wyatt Oleff, with Jonathan Entwistle directing.
