Kraven the Hunter was blocked from appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
According to the newly published MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers (Spider-Man writers) originally pitched Kraven the Hunter to be the villain of the third movie, but were shot down after being told that he “was unavailable until Sony established him in a solo movie.”
What Was The Original Spider-Man: No Way Home Pitch?
One of the ideas would have had him lean fully into hunter mode, bringing one of his hunts for Spider-Man to the big screen.
The core plot of Spider-Man: No Way Home need not have changed too much, as Kraven the Hunter is a founding member of the Sinister Six, so perhaps we could have had him teaming up with Doc Ock, The Lizard, Electro, Sandman and Green Goblin to create a multiverse version of the evil team. That could still have had our three Spider-Men teaming up to save the multiverse, while embedding Kraven as a core character.
Kraven the Hunter Has Been A Long Time Coming
Illuminerdi has previously reported on the Kraven solo movie, which has been in the works for a while. Tom Holland has discussed how director Jon Watts “pitched […] this Kraven movie” which would have been Holland’s third Spider-Man film.
“For a long time, there was going to be a Kraven movie that was going to be the third movie because things weren’t working out and all sorts of different stuff. Jon pitched me this Kraven movie, which actually was really cool. I don’t want to talk about it in case that movie ends up happening down the line, but it was fun.”
– Tom Holland –
It looks like that movie as pitched isn’t happening, but at least we have Aaron Taylor Johnson’s solo film to look forward to.
We were originally supposed to be in the popcorn line for it as we speak, but it ended up being delayed from October 2023 to August 2024, and it’s going to be a long ten months for Kraven fans to wait for his appearance.
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However, you don’t have to wait until August to et your Kraven fix. He stars alongside Venom in Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man 2, which is scheduled for Playstation 5 release on October 20th and has already met ‘critical acclaim’ per Metacritic.
What Will The Kraven Movie Be About?
Despite mixed fan views on origin stories, Kraven the Hunter will explore how the iconic villain came to be. According to the movie’s official website:
“Kraven the Hunter is the visceral story about how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Set before his notorious vendetta with Spider-Man, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars as the titular character in the R-rated film.”
So it’s safe to assume it will be violent with the potential for some gore. There has been a teased third act transformation which doesn’t involve any digital effects, and the R rating (the first given to a Sony’s Spider-Man Universe movie) suggests that could be impressive.
We can also assume it will delve into Kraven’s familial relationships, as we know Fred Hechinger (The Fear Street Trilogy) has been cast as master-of-disguise Chameleon, who is also Kraven’s half-brother, while Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Thor: Love and Thunder) will play Kraven’s father Nikolai Kravinoff.
All this will take place before Holland’s tenure as Spider-Man in universe, and so could act as a set up for an epic crossover, just like Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers originally pitched.
Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on August 30, 2024. Would you have liked to see Kraven in the third Spider-Man movie? How do you think the MCU would be different if the Sinister Six had been established? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.
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Source: The Direct
