Kraven the Hunter is next in line for Sony's Marvel villain movie treatment, but can he exist without Spider-Man? 2014's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 explicitly set up a Sinister Six movie, but when the Andrew Garfield series collapsed and Spidey jumped to the MCU, Sony continued pursuing an evil-centric route. The studio's series of sinister solo ventures stars Tom Hardy as Venom, Jared Leto as Morbius and, most recently, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kraven the Hunter. Thus far, these efforts have been Spider-Man-free, brief references and local graffiti aside.
One of Spider-Man's most famous comic book adversaries, Kraven the Hunter has long been rumored for the big screen, but never quite made the trip. In the Marvel comics, Kraven is a Russian aristocrat turned wild hunter, trained to the point of peak human ability and then enhanced further through a mystery potion. In Kraven's quest to prove himself the world's greatest hunter, the villain becomes obsessed with Spider-Man as his most prized quarry, and finally gets his man in the iconic "Kraven's Last Hunt" storyline.
Where the likes of Venom and Morbius can exist relatively free of influence from the web-slinger, Kraven is a different prospect entirely. To begin with, the Russian hunter is an out-and-out supervillain. Eddie Brock and Michael Morbius tread a thin line between good and evil, but Kraven usually wants nothing more than to hunt and kill the strongest superheroes he can find. This means Aaron Taylor-Johnson has no clear-cut protagonist arc of his own, and will instead be defined by whomever he sets his deadly sights upon. And how can this not involve Spider-Man? While Kraven tracks many other folks in the Marvel comic books, none of them sate his thirst quite like Peter Parker, and it's through this long-running game of cat and spider that readers come to know Kraven in his ruthless glory. A Kraven the Hunter movie that neglects to address the character's most treasured, Spider-flavored game is like a Jaws film without the hapless, unaware beach-goers.
"Kraven's Last Hunt" remains one of the best Spider-Man comics ever printed, and the movie's writer, Richard Wenk, claims his script will draw heavily from that famous story. In "Kraven's Last Hunt," the titular predator finally bests Peter Parker, then takes Spidey's place as a noticeably less friendly neighborhood vigilante, before finally putting his hunting days to rest. Quite how a "Kraven's Last Hunt" movie could work without a significant presence from Spider-Man is a mystery. Between his long-awaited victory, replacing Spider-Man, and a final "rematch," Parker and Kraven's dynamic sits firmly the heart of the tale. Even if Sony's Kraven the Hunter movie focuses predominantly on the character's time replacing Spider-Man as a crime-fighter, the plot still must chronicle the hero's defeat, and explore his world enough for Kraven's impersonation to matter.
Ever since Tom Holland's short-lived exit from the MCU in the crazy summer of 2019, rumors have suggested his character would be allowed to migrate freely between Disney's Marvel world to Sony's. That hasn't yet come to pass, but Kraven the Hunter presents a perfect opportunity for some long-awaited crossover. Even without an MCU tether, Aaron Taylor-Johnson can still have a spider to catch. If reports are to be believed, Spider-Man: No Way Home will establish a sprawling Spider-Verse, in which Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and others will all become part of the same multiverse. Kraven the Hunter could take place in any one of these quantum planes, chasing any variation of the web-slinger. Spidey could even stay masked, thereby not disclosing exactly which version of Peter Parker fans are seeing. However Sony does it, live-action Kraven needs to hunt something that's socially awkward, sticks to walls, and won't hand over his rent until the goddamn door is fixed.
