Sony Pictures is playing a little release date shuffle this Friday evening. Kraven the Hunter, the upcoming Spider-Man spin-off starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, was originally slated to hit theaters on August 30th, but the film has now been pushed back to a December 13th release. Kraven the Hunter‘s fresh release date was already occupied by the new Karate Kid movie, which has now been bumped to May 30, 2025.
Kraven the Hunter has been delayed several times already, but hopefully, this will be the last move. Coming on the heels of the less-than-impressive debuts of Morbius and Madame Web, this Spider-Man spin-off has a lot to prove, but with an R-rated edge, it could just turn the tide. Director J.C. Chandor has previously described the movie as a tragedy. “Sony probably doesn’t want me to lead with this. but the story is a tragedy,” Chandor said last summer. “When the final credits roll on this film, if you’ve been paying attention, you won’t have the feeling that this is all going to end great.” In addition to Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character, the film also stars Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Christopher Abbot, Alessandro Nivola, and Russell Crowe.
As for the new Karate Kid movie, it will blend together the Cobra Kai universe and the reboot universe. The film will star Ben Wang (American Born Chinese) as a young teenager from China who finds identity and strength in martial arts. During his journey of self-discovery, Wang’s character meets a disciplined martial arts master. The coming-of-age drama will also find Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio reprising their roles of Mr. Han and Daniel LaRusso. Joshua Jackson (Fatal Attraction) and Ming-Na Wen (The Mandalorian) will also appear in the movie, alongside Sadie Stanley (Cruel Summer) as the romantic lead. Jonathan Entwistle (The End of the F***ing World) will direct from a script by Rob Lieber (Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day).