MOVIE NEWS – Sony’s Kraven the Hunter will officially be R-rated, meaning Venom 3 could also be R-rated for the first time in the franchise.
Venom 3 could finally get a chance at an R-rating thanks to Sony’s Kraven the Hunter. Venom first made his big screen debut in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, starring Topher Grace. He later returned to cinemas in 2018’s Venom, with Tom Hardy as the new version of Eddie Brock. He also provided the voice for the alien symbiote. Hardy reprised the role in 2021’s Venom 2. The same year, he was cast in Spider-Man: He also briefly crossed over to the Marvel Universe in No Way Home.
Despite mixed reviews, both Venom films were big box office successes, while Hardy’s Venom meets Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man also attracted considerable interest following his own No Way Home role.
However, despite his reputation as Marvel’s “lethal protector” and his wholehearted devouring of bad guys, Venom’s solo films have remained within the PG-13 parameters from the start. That may finally change as a result of what Sony is planning for another upcoming Marvel anti-hero film, Kraven the Hunter.
What would Venom 3 gain with an R rating?
Venom isn’t called the “lethal protector” for nothing. Eddie Brock and his symbiote’s toxic bond was inherently born out of the protagonist’s rage at being dealt the wrong cards and that the alien he’s bonded to could use the powers he’s been given to exact revenge. Although the Venom films take out Spider-Man’s role in the origin story, Eddie and Venom are still motivated by the feelings of two beings who feel they have been cheated. This rage is reflected in Venom’s vigilante ways. It’s a side of him that hasn’t really been exploited in his appearances on the big screen.
Above all, Venom – anti-hero or not – is still an alien monster if all is true: his hunger for human brains and his promise to devour the guilty is only as strong as his tendency to back up that promise.
As a kind of culmination of Eddie and Venom’s history together, Venom 3 is the perfect opportunity for them to take up the gauntlet finally. Especially since Kraven’s film sets a precedent for Sony’s other Marvel villain collections.
No word yet on whether Venom 3 will be R-rated. Even without the built-in connection to Spider-Man, the first Venom film was a towering box office success with $856.1 million. Venom: Let There Be Carnage grossed a smaller $506.1 million, but considering the recovery from the COVID-19 outbreak, it wasn’t over at the box office at the time. Let there be no doubt: if Sony sees Venom’s best chance for box office success as being in the PG-13 sandbox, it will stay there.
Sony’s decision to make Kraven the Hunter R-rated could mean they plan to do the same for Venom 3.
It would be an odd decision if Kraven the Hunter were the only Sony Marvel film to get an R rating. In addition, the lower box office of Venom 2, but better reception than Venom, might make Sony see an R rating as a novelty. So the third part may offer something new in this area. An R-rated Venom 3 could be the winning formula for Eddie and Venom’s third dark story.
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