The past year has seen the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC failing to make movies that the audience finds impressive. The first live-action superhero movie released this year is Madame Web, a part of Sony’s Spider-verse. The movie’s performance has made fans concerned about Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter.
The superhero genre has been struggling with pulling audiences lately, and this is not a revelation for anyone who follows these movies. Whether it is fatigue from the genre or the lack of effort in making good movies is hard to tell because it is not one franchise we are talking about. Had it been about a single franchise struggling to make superhero movies that land well with the audience, it could be said that it is that particular franchise’s problem, but that does not seem to be the case.
Fans Are Concerned About Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter
Although Aaron Taylor-Johnson started acting when he was six years old, he kickstarted his professional acting career in 2000 with a role in the biblical telefilm The Apocalypse. He gained attention in 2009 when he won the Empire Award for Best Newcomer for his performance as John Lennon in the biographical film Nowhere Boy.
In 2021, it was announced that Aaron Taylor-Johnson would be portraying Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter in the eponymous movie (via The Wrap). This character is an addition to Sony’s Marvel-licensed character. The character Kraven the Hunter, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, was introduced as a Spider-Man villain in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 (1964).
The movie is scheduled for release this year, and the fate of Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web has fans concerned about Kraven the Hunter. Netizens are vocal about their concern regarding the movie. Some have even voiced it out loud on X. One X user wrote:
“Everything they’ve done is mediocre”
Oh god, who knows. Everything they’ve done is mediocre
— SamJReimer (@SamuelStark93) February 14, 2024
Here is what some others had to say:
I don’t care anymore, Sony just needs to stop they haven’t made a good Spider-Man related movie since the og Spider-Man 2. I’m ignoring it all until they just let marvel have Spidey back.
— Xedjithegoblin (@Zedrous) February 14, 2024
Sony verse is flop city they just got lucky with the venom movies
— strip club kingz (@Maxkorp) February 13, 2024
They gotta give it up😭
— 🇩🇴ᗩຮቲ𝜞⚉🇩🇴 (@AsTr0_NuT03) February 13, 2024
…….bad. pic.twitter.com/s1BRX9g4su
— ScattertoothArt (@ScattertoothArt) February 14, 2024
Fans have also accused Sony of using the Spider-verse as a means of making money instead of actually adding value to the franchise. Only time will tell whether Kraven the Hunter will be better than Madame Web or not.
Madame Web Has an Underwhelming Score on Rotten Tomatoes
Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson in the lead role, sees Cassie Webb face her past while trying to survive with three other women as they try to thwart a common adversary. The critics’ ratings on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes have landed the movie with a meager 17%. This is concerning as the movie seems to be as ill-fated as Jared Leto’s Morbius, released in 2022.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is no stranger to the superhero genre as he has previously played the role of Scarlet Witch/Wanda Maximoff’s brother Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron. His role as Kraven the Hunter is a shift from the superhero image, but hopefully, the actor will do justice to the character and impress the fans.
Kraven the Hunter is scheduled to be released on August 30, 2024, and Madame Web is in theatres now.
