Kraven the Hunter is Sony's most exciting Spider-Man spinoff movie currently in development. The so-called "Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters" had a strong start. Venom released in 2018, grossing over $850 million worldwide, and it was granted an extended run in China. The studio's plans have been forced to adjust due to the coronavirus pandemic, but next year Sony intend to release Morbius and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Sony has long been ambitious to build a wider universe based on the 900 or so characters they own based on the Spider-Man film rights. The status of the different projects is currently uncertain, but they reportedly include unlikely films such as Nightwatch, Kraven, Silk, and Jackpot. This is in addition to sequels and spinoffs from Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Back in February, early in the pandemic, Sony booked a release date for October 2021. For the time being, Sony has revealed no information about this film, but Kraven was probably their original intention.
Kraven is also the most exciting Spider-Man spinoff in the works - because it has the unique potential to tell a classic Spider-Man story, due to the new agreement reached between Marvel and Sony last year. Furthermore, it can be the perfect story to follow what's already been established in both Sony's and Marvel's universes.
How Spider-Man Could Fit Into Sony's Plans For Kraven
In October 2018, Kraven writer Richard Wenk revealed he was early in the writing process. In unguarded comments on one podcast he said he was planning to adhere closely to the comic book lore. "He's going to come face-to-face with Spider-Man," Wenk revealed, apparently unaware of the significance of his remark. "I think that where we're all circling is that this is Kraven's Last Hunt, and whether this is the precursor to that movie, whether it will include it, we're talking about those things. And even the idea that maybe Kraven could be like Kill Bill, basically a two-part movie. It's all in the mix." Wenk insisted he was still at the point of "throw[ing] everything at the wall," but his statement was nonetheless striking.
At the time, it seemed impossible to consider a way for Spider-Man to appear in the Kraven movie. Back in 2017, around the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Sony's Amy Pascal had suggested the spinoffs should be considered "adjuncts" to the MCU. This led to days of conflicting statements from Marvel and Sony as they attempted - albeit unsuccessfully - to clarify the issue. Although Pascal had undoubtedly laid Sony's hopes and dreams bare, Marvel seemed unwilling to compromise their creative vision in this way. Wenk's comments suggested the studio still wanted to incorporate Tom Holland's Spider-Man into their films, but there was no obvious way this could become a reality.
And then last year, shortly after the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home, the relationship between Marvel and Sony soured. For a brief time it looked as though the MCU had lost its Spider-Man, but a (drunk) intervention from Tom Holland himself brought the two studios back to the negotiating table. They struck a new deal, and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige himself hinted Spider-Man was now a lot more accessible to Sony. "[Spider-Man] also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes," Feige hinted, "so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold." Since then, marketing for Morbius and Venom 2 has stressed a loose MCU connection, and a leaked casting grid has suggested Kraven will indeed be hunting Spider-Man - just as Wenk suggested.
Kraven's Last Hunt Is One Of The Best Spider-Man Stories Of All Time
Not much is known about Kraven right now, but Wenk's remarks imply Sony was looking at a story called "Kraven's Last Hunt" for inspiration. Originally published in 1987, this story was written by JM DeMatteis and featured art by Mike Zeck and Bob McLeod. Not only is this widely considered Kraven's best story, it is also generally viewed as one of the best Spider-Man stories of all time. An obsessed Kraven plans what he considers his greatest hunt ever, attempting to prove himself Spider-Man's superior by actually supplanting the wall-crawler and assuming his superhero identity. He shoots and drugs Spider-Man, literally burying him alive, before becoming a far more brutal Spider-Man. In the end, "Kraven's Last Hunt" finished in a shocking and dramatic suicide, with Kraven believing he had nothing left to live for now he had achieved his goal. The lasting popularity of "Kraven's Last Hunt" is all the more remarkable given Spider-Man felt like a supporting character in his own book during this arc, with Kraven standing at the heart of it.
There is one further problem with adapting "Kraven's Last Hunt" for the big screen, however. The simple truth is that this story has to be earned. It worked in the comics because Spider-Man and Kraven had been battling one another since 1964, with the insane big game hunter growing increasingly obsessed with Spider-Man. For long-term readers, this felt like the most satisfying conclusion to the twisted relationship between Spider-Man and Kraven, and they could reread older stories and sense the buildup to this dramatic finale. Death doesn't last long in superhero comics, but Kraven wasn't brought back until 2010, 23 years later, and no subsequent stories have felt anywhere near as powerful. In exactly the same way, if Sony is going to create a worthwhile adaptation of "Kraven's Last Hunt," they, too, will need to earn it. They can't possibly rush this; they have to bring Kraven and Spider-Man together time and again first, establishing the obsession and creating a strong sense of narrative direction.
In the past, Sony has attempted to move too quickly with ideas like this; Sinister Six hints in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 were heavy-handed and actually detracted from the movie, contributing in part to its poor reviews and reputation. Fortunately, Wenk's remarks suggest at least some people involved in Kraven are aware of this problem. Notice his comment about considering a Kill Bill approach, turning Kraven into a two-volume arc that lets them build the relationship between Spider-Man and Kraven. Furthermore, they would need to handle the ending of the story appropriately, as a character committing suicide due to feeling a sense of accomplishment - a sense of finality, really - can come off as callous. If Sony do indeed go for this approach, though, then Kraven is undoubtedly the most exciting Spider-Man spinoff in the works right now.
