It’s no secret that superhero and comic-book movies are the driving force in Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking these days. Every major studio is trying to get in on the fun, and the result of this has been an endless stream of big-budget blockbuster action movies that are attempting to be the next major film event.
While DC and all of its characters are housed by Warner Bros, and the majority of Marvel characters are owned by Disney, there is one other studio that has managed to stake its claim in the realm of superhero movies as well. That studio is Sony Pictures, which owns the rights to Marvel’s most famous hero, Spider-Man, and all the adjacent and related characters to the Spider-Man comics.
While Sony and Marvel have struck a deal that allows for them to co-produce Spider-Man movies and for the character to appear in other Disney/Marvel movies like the Avengers films, Sony still has its own ambitions for its small slice of the Marvel pie. Over the last five years, in addition to the animated Spider-Verse movies, the studio has been producing a slew of movies based on villains and anti-heroes from the Spider-Man comics. The newest of these films is the R-rated Kraven the Huntermovie, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Before the Kraven movie is released in October, here are 11 other Marvel movies that you should watch in preparation:
11 Venom (2018)
The first film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (the SSU, as the studio calls it) is 2018’s Venom, directed by Ruben Fleischer. Considering Kraven the Hunter will be set in this same universe, it would be good to go back and see where it all started. Venom stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom, and the film follows him as Brock and the Venom symbiote are first merged.
The two of them are struggling to strike the right balance of control while also attempting to stop another evil symbiote that has attached itself to the businessman Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). While there have been teases of a Spider-Man existing in the SSU, everyone's favorite web-slinger has yet to appear in any of the films, and Venom’s origin in this film is entirely disconnected from the character.
10 Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021)
The second film in the SSU is 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film is a direct sequel to the first Venom, and it introduces the fan-favorite villain Cletus Kasady / Carnage. The violent red symbiote is another famous Spider-Man villain, and his inclusion in this film makes it a must-watch for any Spidey fan. Kasady and Carnage are played by Woody Harrelson in the film, with Naomie Harris joining him as the villain Shriek.
The film is rated PG-13, though there were a lot of talks about making the film rated R. Within those confines, however, Serkis pushes the rating about as far as it can go.
9 Morbius (2022)
The most recent entry in the SSU, and the one directly preceding Kraven the Hunter, is 2022’s Morbius. This film, which stars Jared Leto, has become a bit of a joke among comic-book movie fans. However, if you’re looking to catch up on the SSU before Kraven, it’s worth watching at least once.
There are genuinely some redeeming aspects of the movie, such as an interesting concept and style, as well as (mostly) excellent visual effects. The end of the film does a lot to establish the state of the SSU moving forward, which will most likely be important as it continues to expand with Kraven and the films that will follow it.
8 Spider-Man (2002)
Though it is not directly connected to the new Kraven film, the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie from 2002 is a must-watch when preparing for the new spin-off. This is simply because it is the best live-action telling of Spider-Man’s origin, which is the foundation upon which all these movies are built.
The first Raimi film established the tone and set the bar for what a Spider-Man movie should be. Although it’s incredibly unlikely that any version of the webhead, much less Maguire’s iteration, will appear in Kraven, it’s still important to watch Spider-Man to understand the wider context in which Kraven exists.
7 The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
While the rebooted Amazing Spider-Man movies from the early 2010s are often considered the worst Spider-Man movies, there are still redeeming qualities about both of them. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 may have a poor story and too many villains, but it still does an excellent job of establishing Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man as a character. The film offers one of the best depictions of Spider-Man on film to date, plus it has incredible action sequences and everything involving Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy is outstanding.
On top of that, a lot of people have speculated that the SSU is actually set within Garfield’s universe, which would tie The Amazing Spider-Man 2 directly to Kraven. However, unlikely as that may be, one inarguable connection between the two is the inclusion of the villain the Rhino. While it’s still to be seen how Kraven will adapt the Rhino to screen, it can’t be worse than the Paul Giamatti version.
6 Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
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With Maguire and Garfield’s Spider-Men on the list, we had to get at least one of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies in here. Spider-Man: No Way Home was an obvious choice. Not only is it one of the best and most character and emotion-driven Spider-Man movies we’ve gotten, but it also connects all the on-screen Spider-Man movies together as they’d never been before. Even the Venom movies and the SSU get in on the action, as Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock is featured in the film’s post-credit scene.
No Way Home may not take place in the same universe as Kraven, but it does connect to the SSU by establishing the Spider-Verse in live-action. A silhouette of Kraven even makes a brief cameo toward the film’s conclusion. If you’re reading this article, chances are you’ve already seen No Way Home, but it’s the kind of movie that’s always worth a re-watch.
5 Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)
While the Spider-Verse may have been established in live-action in No Way Home, it has been through animation that the concept has really been explored in detail. We included the new movie Across the Spider-Verse on this list because, without going into spoiler territory, the film does connect with the MCU and the SSU in several unexpected ways.
On top of that, considering Across the Spider-Verse is the only Spider-Man film released in the same year as Kraven, the two films are pretty closely related. It’s unlikely that Kraven will connect to Across the Spider-Verse, but the implications of the Spider-Verse sequel are likely to be felt throughout the SSU.
4 Blade (1998)
Moving beyond the myriad of Spider-Man movies that exist, we also need to consider Kraven the Hunter more broadly as a Marvel film. While making the Venom movies rated R was considered, they both ultimately were kept at a PG-13 rating. That’s not the case with Kraven, which is fully embracing the R-rated violence of the character. Kraven won’t be the first R-rated Marvel movie, though; that title belongs to 1998’s Blade.
Starring Wesley Snipes, Blade is one of the first Marvel movies ever produced that managed to actually be a success. The original Blade is a must-watch for any Marvel fan, especially so if you’re looking forward to Kraven. Blade shows what an R-rated Marvel movie can be, and it could give an idea of what to expect from Kraven the Hunter.
3 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
While Avengers: Age of Ultron may not have anything to do with Kraven the Hunter in terms of story, tone or general approach to filmmaking, there is one clear connection between the two. That connection is Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Kraven the Hunter is not the first Marvel character that Taylor-Johnson has played. The actor already appeared in Age of Ultron as Pietro Maximoff; the speedster known as Quicksilver.
Unfortunately for Taylor-Johnson, he only got the chance to play the character in that one film. There is a silver lining for that, though, as it opened the door for the actor to eventually step into the role of Kraven.
2 Ghost Rider (2007)
One of the last Marvel movies to be released before the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe was 2007’s Ghost Rider, starring Nicolas Cage. This film, directed by Mark Steven Johnson, was another Sony production alongside the Raimi Spider-Man movies, and it featured a supporting cast that included the likes of Eva Mendes, Sam Elliot, Peter Fonda and Wes Bentley. What makes Ghost Rider an important movie to watch prior to Kraven is the general approach to and the tone to the story.
Though the two movies are entirely disconnected from each other story-wise, they are both standalone Sony films based on lesser-known Marvel characters that have a bit of an edge to them. Ghost Rider may not carry the same R-rating that Kraven does, but that doesn’t stop the movie from getting pretty metal.
1 Logan (2017)
Finally, we had to include 2017’s Logan on this list because it is the pinnacle both of what an R-rated Marvel film can be, but also of what a Marvel can be in general. Logan is one of the best comic-book movies to be released over the last decade, and while it seems unlikely that Kraven the Hunter will come close to matching it in quality, Logan paints a picture of what Kraven could (and perhaps should) theoretically be. There have been a lot of mediocre superhero movies over the years, and fans shouldn't be satisfied with that.
Logan sets the bar high, and it’s the kind of movie that every other superhero movie should be aspiring to. Who knows if Kraven the Hunter will actually be good? But if it even remotely can be considered in the same conversation as Logan, then fans will be thoroughly satisfied.
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