One issue that hurt previous installments in Sony's Spider-Man Universe and Spider-Man movies in general is at risk of being a problem for Kraven the Hunter. Starring Avengers: Age of Ultron's Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the classic Spider-Man villain, Kraven the Hunter will serve as the fourth installment in the franchise, with several more expected to follow in the years to come.
Sergei Kravinoff is on the cusp of becoming the third villain in Spider-Man's rogues' gallery to get his own live-action movie. Both of Sony's Venom movies turned out to be hits for the studio, with each pulling in a favorable box office haul. Morbius, on the other hand, was a colossal flop littered with problems. Naturally, Sony will look to avoid repeating the issues that held back Morbius as it moves forward with movies like Kraven the Hunter, El Muerto, and Madame Web. First up is 2023's Kraven the Hunter, which will serve as Sony's attempt to deliver a compelling story centered on a Spider-Man villain without actually pitting him against the wall-crawler himself.
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Whether or not Kraven the Hunter will be a success for Sony remains to be seen, but a recently spoiled twist highlights a recurring problem. Alessandro Nivola, who plays an unknown villain in the movie, explained in a recent interview that his character goes thrown a physical transformation in the "final moments of the movie". Who Nivola is playing isn't clear, but it's likely that the villain in question is one of the many Spider-Man characters with an animal-like appearance. Regardless of who it is, saving the character's complete evolution into his comic book counterpart for the end of the movie represents a common mistake with Sony's Spider-Man movies, which tend to rely too heavily on future setup and last-minute developments.
Focusing too much on the future hurt movies like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Morbius. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 saved Rhino's comic look for a post-credits scene and spent too much time building up to a Sinister Six story that never came to fruition. Morbius made similar mistakes, as it largely felt like a building block toward a Sinister Six team-up in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. While forward-thinking isn't an inherently bad strategy, it comes with a lot of risks. Morbius stands as an excellent example of that. Similar to the situation with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Morbius' cliffhangers and setup may never receive proper resolutions since the movie wasn't the hit Sony hoped it would be.
For these reasons, saving its biggest twists for last is a risky move that Kraven the Hunter should avoid. If it does and the movie proves to be a hit, Kraven's solo film can lead to an exciting sequel, a team-up with other Spider-Man characters, and possibly other spinoffs - regardless of its future setup or lack thereof. To deliver the best possible Kraven story, Sony shouldn't hold back with Taylor-Johnson's character or his villains.