Summary
Kraven the Huntermay be one of Spider-Man’s feared enemies in Marvel Comics, but the supervillain’s worst nightmare seems to be finding his place in a good live-action film. The character’s recent standalone movie starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson was the final nail in the coffin for Sony’s Spider-Man universe, which takes us back to a long list of missed opportunities for his big-screen debut in the past.
It took several years of delays and other hurdles for Sony to releaseKraven the Hunter. Still, the film turned out to be an abysmal box office flop. Reviews haven’t been kind either, with comparisons toMorbiusandMadame Web. This sad state of affairs gets worse upon the realization that theMarvel Comicsvillain was originally meant to feature in much bigger, vastly successful superhero films.
Kraven As A Villain InSpider-Man 4
Sam Raimi’s Plans For Kraven The Hunter
DirectorSam Raimi’s fourthSpider-Manfilmwith Tobey Maguire never saw the light of day, and fans will continue to rue this missed chance for more reasons than one. One of those reasons was the tentative inclusion ofKraven the Hunterin the film. Raimi himself confirmed his plans inan interview withRolling Stoneback when he was promotingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Had Sergei Kravinoff been part of Raimi’sSpider-Man 4, he would have joined the likes ofGreen Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and Sandman as not just another memorable Spider-Man villain, but also a pop culture phenomenon celebrated for ages.
I missed Kraven the Hunter. We were going to work that character into the next Spider-Man; I always wanted to see Kraven fight Spider-Man on the big screen. I thought that would be really unique. He’s the ultimate hunter, and Spider-Man is like the most agile trickster of the skies.
Kraven The Hunter InThe Amazing Spider-ManFilms
The Sinister Six Introduction
AfterSpider-Man 4was shelved,The Amazing Spider-Manfilmscame into the picture, andKraven the Hunterhad an opportunity to be part of this reboot as well. Before the release of the second film, Sony Pictures and Marvel Entertainment announced a collective shared universe of movies focused on Spidey villains likeVenomand theSinister Six. As one of the founding members of the Sinister Six, Kraven’s presence in this sequel was inevitable, as confirmed byThe Amazing Spider-Mandirector Marc Webbin a 2017 interview with ComicBook.com.
Kraven. I like the idea of Kraven. The Vulture. Ock. I always thought the idea of Mysterio was interesting. Maybe Scorpion. But really, Kraven I think is kind of interesting.
In fact, the ending ofTASMhinted at the formation of the Sinister Six with Harry Osborn (Green Goblin), Aleksei Sytsevich (Rhino), and Gustav Fiers (The Gentleman). But unfortunately, Andrew Garfield’s version of the web-slinger couldn’t get past two films. That’s when the franchise’s plans split into two.
Kraven The Hunter In The MCU
Sony-Marvel Corporate Plans
Spider-Man joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, announced by Tom Holland’s arrival. Sony started its own Spider-Man universe with films like Tom Hardy’sVenom. Thiscorporate synergy between Sony and Marvelhinted that their villains, includingKraven the Hunter, would make their way into the MCU at some point in the future.
Kraven’s Unlikely Debut InBlack Panther
Furthermore, Kraven’s MCU debut almost came in an unlikely non-Spider-Man film.Black Panther’s director Ryan Coogleroriginally had plans to include Kraven in the 2018 film. SeriousBlack Pantherfans would be familiar with Christopher Priest’s comic run, which had an exciting fight between the Spider-Man villain and the Wakandan hero. Unfortunately, Coogler couldn’t bring Kraven into his film, either due to a conflict of rights with Sony or perhaps because Marvel had plans to introduce him in aTom HollandSpider-Manfilmlater on.
No Way HomeWas Almost A Kraven Film
Some Spidey fans would also be surprised to find out thatSpider-Man: No Way Homewas originally meant to be just a film pitting Peter Parker against Kraven the Hunter. AfterVulture inHomecomingand Mysterio inFar From Home, it makes sense why director John Watts wanted to go with a heavyweight supervillain like Kraven for the third MCUSpider-Manfilm.
But again, this turned into yet another missed opportunity for Kraven, as the plans were dropped since Sony was already developing a standalone film for the villain. But it goes without saying that Kevin Feige wouldn’t be ruining this missed opportunity, considering thesuccess ofNo Way Homeand how the nostalgic reunion of older Spidey villains played a big part in it.
Kraven The Hunter’s Future In The SSU
Death Of The Sony Spider-Man Universe?
Fast forward to a few years later, andthe Sony Spider-Man universeis now practically dead.Kraven the Hunteropened to terrible reviews and audience reception earlier this month. This follows previous hurdles like several release date pushes, the SAG-AFTRA strike, the disasters ofMorbiusandMadame Web, and a general lack of interest due to all of this combined. However, Sony and director J.C. Chandor seemed positive thatKraven the Huntermight just surprise the audience and at least deliver in terms of quality close to theVenomfilms.
Plans For A Second Kraven Film
But this clearly isn’t the case, as seen from thepoor $11.8 million domestic openingand a terrible 14 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Had it not been for such bad results,Kraven the Huntermight have just gotten another film where he faced off against Spider-Man. According to director J.C. Chandor, this would have been the second and final film with the character and is based onKraven’s Last Huntby J. M. DeMatteis, Mike Zeck, and Bob McLeod.
Despite genuine interest from him, as well as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who wantedaSinister Sixcrossover film, it seems like the end of the road for the character. While it’s possible for the Sony Spider-Man universe to continue, some reports have confirmed thatKraven the Hunterwill be the last non-Venomfilm in the franchise for now.
