Marvel movies get major release date shake-up

Sony has announced significant delays for a couple of important Marvel movies, Kraven the Hunter and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

Kraven the Hunter has moved from October 6, 2023, right the way to August 30, 2024.

Variety suggests this is because the film, based on a character most Marvel movie fans may not even know, will need to go all-out on promo to bring in the crowds. And this is currently not possible amid the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Kraven the Hunter stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven, while Russell Crowe plays his father. This delay seems good news for the film, given we’ve barely heard anything about Kraven the Hunter for a movie, apparently, due out in a few months until recently.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has been delayed indefinitely, having previously been pencilled-in for March 29, 2024.

Don’t worry, Spidey fans, we see little chance of this film being cancelled altogether. 2023’s Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse has already made upwards of $680 million at the box office, far greater than the $384 million of 2018’s Spider-Man Into the Spider-Verse.

Venom 3 has also been given a release date of July 12, 2024.

In an unusual turn of events, in an era of constant delays, this is actually a little earlier than the October 2024 proposed by the studio back in June. Tom Hardy will return for the third Venom film, and Ted Lasso star Juno Temple will join the cast. We’re currently unsure of what character she will play.

Considering Venom 3 barely got to start shooting in June before it was put on hold for the SAG-AFTRA strikes, we would not be surprised if this one hits another snag.

Other notable Sony delays include a small one for the next Ghostbusters film, which sees the cast of Ghostbusters: Afterlife return for another adventure. Its date has been bumped from December 20 2023 to March 29 2024.

The next reboot of Karate Kid has also been moved from June 2024 to December 2024. Gran Turismo’s release has been bumped a week, from August 18 to August 25, related to the stars not being able to get out and promo the movie.

There’s no sign of the US writers’ and actors’ strikes reaching a conclusion at present. Most recently, SAG-SFTRA defended its use of Interim Agreements, which let productions out of the giant companies’ grasp carry on making movies and TV shows.

• The best Marvel movies, ranked