Sony’s 2023 film slate includes R-rated ‘Kraven The Hunter’

LAS VEGAS — CinemaCon kicked off Monday with a major announcement from Sony Pictures — its upcoming “Kraven the Hunter” would mark the first R-rated Marvel film produced by the studio.

The reveal came during the company’s presentation at the annual convention for Hollywood studios and movie theater owners in Las Vegas, in which Sony unveiled new footage and trailers from its upcoming slate, including “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Gran Turismo” and “No Hard Feelings.”

“F— yes, it’s rated R,” said Kraven himself Aaron Taylor-Johnson in a pretaped teaser for the film before Sony showed the first trailer for the profane and bloody action flick.

Kraven wouldn’t be the first R-rated superhero flick to hit theaters in the last decade. Fans of the genre have been treated to “Logan,” “Deadpool,” “Watchmen” and “The Suicide Squad” in recent years from 20th Century Fox (now owned by Disney) and Warner Bros. Discovery. But it opens the door for Sony to develop darker, bloodier and more mature films within the Spider-Man universe — namely, around the fan favorite character Venom.

Sony currently owns the film rights to Spider-Man and his cavalcade of villains and has found success in alternative universe productions that fall outside Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe. The companies have partnered on three MCU standalone Spider-Man films featuring Tom Holland in the spidey suit and have granted Disney permission to use the character in its ensemble films.

In 2023, the studio will have a sequel to its Oscar-winning animated feature “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” On Monday, the company shared an extended look at “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” in which Miles Morales reunites with Gwen Stacy after becoming Brooklyn’s full-time friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

He’s catapulted into the Multiverse where he encounters a team of Spider-People charged with protecting it. When the heroes clash on how to handle a new threat, Miles finds himself pitted against the other Spiders.

Sony showed 14 minutes of the film — due out June 2 — to CinemaCon audiences, who laughed and cheered for the uniquely animated feature.

Josh Greenstein, president of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, teased that the company would release 23 movies in 2023, after being introduced via video by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, who are currently filming “Bad Boys 4.”

Sony showed the opening clip of “Dumb Money,” a film by Craig Gillespie about how an everyday investor played by Paul Dano flipped the script on Wall Street, placing all his savings into GameStop in 2021. The film due out in October also stars Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson, Shailene Woodley, America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dane DeHaan and Nick Offerman.

It followed with trailers for “Insidious: The Red Door,” due out in July, “The Machine,” coming in May and “Gran Turismo,” hitting screens in August.

Sony also showcased a clip from Jennifer Lawrence’s upcoming R-rated drama “No Hard Feelings” to raucous applause. It also teased an R-rated comedy “Anyone But You” starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell as well as a sequel to “Ghostbusters: Afterlife.”

After accepting CinemaCon’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Denzel Washington brought on stage Antoine Fuqua and Dakota Fanning to show a trailer of “The Equalizer 3.”

“You can see at Sony we are not f—ing around,” said Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, closing out the presentation.

He revealed that Apple and Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” will be distributed by Sony. The film, due out at Thanksgiving, will have a “robust window,” Rothman promised.

“Hold onto your tri-cornered hats,” he teased before showing the first footage of the war epic, which recieved thunderous applause.