While there may still be some life left in Sony Pictures’ SSU, the franchise will be getting a major overhaul (at the very least) following the latest spin-off’s abysmal box office performance from Spider-Man-less Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter.

We don’t know how much a new version of SSU would actually improve, because it doesn’t seem like the studio’s CEO is willing to admit that the quality of the films had anything to do with their failure at the BO. .

By speaking to Los Angeles TimesTony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures, admitted that Kraven was “probably the worst launch we’ve had” in his nearly eight years at the studio. “I still don’t understand” he added. “Because the movie isn’t a bad movie.”

The film’s 15% Rotten Tomatoes score suggests that the majority of critics would disagree.

The Spider-Man films aside, none of the studio’s Marvel-based live-action films have been a hit with critics, although the first two Venom films have been box office hits, and the recent The last dance performed much better than Kraven, Morbius And Madame Web.

“Let’s talk about Madame Web for a moment. » Vinciquerra continued. “Madame Web underperformed in cinema because the press simply crucified her. It wasn’t a bad movie and it did very well on Netflix. For some reason the press decided they didn’t want us to make these films based on Kraven and Madame Web, and the critics just destroyed them. They also did it with Venom, but the audience loved Venom and made Venom a huge success. They’re not terrible films. They were destroyed by press criticism, for whatever reason. »

Vinciquerra is obviously entitled to his opinion, but it seems a bit short-sighted and stubborn to not at least acknowledge the possibility that critics and audiences didn’t like the films because… they’re not very good.

Sony insiders said the studio would be “more discerning about which, if any, of the studio’s Spider-Man characters should be elevated into their own film franchise,” but Vinciquerra clearly believes the reviews are biased towards these films and would not do so. I will not give future SSU installments a fair chance.

“It’s a snake bite. If we publish another one, it will be destroyed, no matter how good or bad it is. »

We’re sure you’ll have a few things to say about it, so leave us a comment below.

“Kraven the Hunter is the visceral story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Set before his infamous vendetta with Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the title character in the R-rated film.”

Kraven the Hunter is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is intended to be the sixth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The film was directed by JC Chandor and written by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway and Richard Wenk.

In addition to Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role, Ariana DeBose will play Calypso, a voodoo priestess and Kraven’s love interest (in the comics, at least); Fred Hechinger is Dmitri Smerdyakov, aka the Chameleon, who is Kraven’s half-brother; Alessandro Nivola will play Aleksei Sytsevich, aka the Rhino, and Christopher Abbott will play another villain known as the Stranger.

The film has been rated R for “Strong bloody violence and language.”