Spider-Man’s iconic villain Kraven will soon be heading to the big screen. Sony and Marvel will release Kraven the Hunter to theaters in 2024. This is the first solo film set to feature Kraven, but Marvel and other production companies have attempted to integrate the character into film for years. Kraven was first set to be featured in the fourth Sam Raimi Spider-Man film before that franchise was rebooted. A shared universe featuring Kraven was later teased in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 before Spider-Man was instead brought into the MCU in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Sony began to develop their own Spider-Man standalone universe at this time, with plans to finally feature the iconic hunter.
Updated August 8, 2023: This article has been updated following the recent trailer for Kraven the Hunter and the film's new release date.
The idea of a Kraven the Hunter movie might have seemed odd to some fans, but the recent trailer and the fact that it will be rated R certainly got many more on board with the project. Let’s look at everything we know about Kraven the Hunter. What will the plot entail? Who has been confirmed to star? When and where can audiences see the film once it is released? And what else would we know about Kraven the Hunter?
Kraven the Hunter: The Plot
While no full plot details are known, the film's trailer has given some insight into what the movie will be about. Screenwriter Richard Wenk was tasked with finding a different character for Kraven to hunt to compensate for the lack of Spider-Man, due to him being in the MCU. According to Wenk, Sony intends to adapt the comic book series Kraven’s Last Hunt plot, though it was unknown if that adaptation would come in this film or a future one.
In the comic book series Kraven’s Last Hunt (spoiler alert), Kraven seemingly kills Spider-Man and takes his identity. Kraven captures Vermin in time for Spider-Man to revive and return to fight. Instead of fighting Spider-Man himself, Kraven pits Vermin against him. Kraven stops Vermin before he kills Spider-Man before retiring from his days as a hunter and committing suicide. While Sony might not make a direct adaptation, elements from the comic might be used in the film and also serve as the inspiration for the character's primary motivation, similar to how The Killing Joke comic inspired both the 1989 Batman version of the Joker and The Dark Knight's incarnation.
Kraven's powers range from supernatural, especially in the comic books, to just slightly superhuman, which will probably be the focus of the movie. His super strength, agility, speed, and his acrobat skills make him a fearsome hunter and a worthy opponent of Spider-Man or any other Marvel superhero. In the comic books, Kraven takes a serum that considerably slows his aging, preserves his youth, and heightens his senses of smell, hearing, and even gives him a super strong, eagle-like vision. Whether this will be incorporated in the movie is not yet disclosed. However, Kraven's bloody encounter with the raging lion during the trailer does seem to be impactful and could result in awakening certain abilities in the character. It seems to give him the ability to communicate with animals.
Kraven's tough upbringing by a cold, abusive father, as featured in the trailer, also foreshadows a transformation in the character's personality as he grows older. The movie gives the audience a brief look at how evil deeds done to children breed villains. This seems to be the film's big hook, that Kraven is a hunter of people to take vengeance for animals as opposed to the big game hunter he typically is in the comics.
Kraven the Hunter: The Cast
As with the other Sony Spider-Man-related movies, the studio has spared no expense on the cast. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is set to take on the role of the iconic hunter. Before Johnson, Sony previously approached such big names as Brad Pitt, Adam Driver, John David Washington, and Keanu Reeves for the titular role.
Sony cast Christopher Abbott as the main villain. Sources have said that Abbott’s villain is The Foreigner, who in the comics is a character closely associated with the Spider-Man supporting character Silver Sable. Russell Crowe has been cast as Nikoli Kravinoff, Kraven's father and supposedly another major antagonist in the film.
Fred Hechinger has been cast as The Chameleon, who was both the very first supervillain Spider-Man fought in the comics and Kraven's half-brother. Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose will play Calypso, a Spider-Man villain and love interest of Kraven. Actor Levi Miller rounded out the cast in April 2022 as another unknown role. Alessandro Nivola was cast in an unknown role, but footage at Cinema-Con and the trailer revealed he will be playing the villain Aleksei Sytsevich or more popularly known as The Rhino.
Release Date
Kraven the Hunter will open in theaters on August 30, 2024. This is the second major release date the movie has held. Originally it was set for January 13, 2023, but was delayed to October 6, 2023. This was the release date that was attached to the first trailer, but the movie has since been delayed for almost a whole year. This delay is because of the recent SAG-AFTRA strike, which prevents any actors from doing press for the films. Sony clearly does not think the strike will be resolved in time for the movie's release for stars like Aaron Taylor Johnson and Russell Crowe to do press.
Sony Pictures tends to be one of the first studios to get out and delay movies due to major shake-ups. On March 30, 2020, just two weeks into theaters being shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony delayed the release dates for films like Morbius, Uncharted, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Kraven the Hunter was one of many films Sony delayed due to the strike, including Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse and the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel.
Everything Else We Know
Kraven the Hunter is one of many films Sony has set in the same universe of characters based on Spider-Man characters. It will be the sixth entry after the already released Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and the upcoming Madame Web and Venom 3, both of which will open in 2024. While Sony may not be able to fully use Spider-Man due to his MCU contract, the studio appears to be building to something bigger.
Kraven the Hunter is famously one of the founding members of the Sinister Six, a team of supervillains who tend to fight Spider-Man. Morbius's post-credit scene seemed to tease the team with the MCU's Vulture (Michael Keaton) being stranded in this universe and recruiting Morbius to a team. With Kraven, Chameleon, Calypso, and Rhino now joining the franchise alongside the already-established Venom and Carnage, there are certainly plenty of characters that could be on this team.
Venom might be the franchise's replacement for Spider-Man, and Kraven could become obsessed with hunting the lethal protector. With Kraven the Hunter being rated R, a showdown between Kraven and Venom might finally give fans the edge 90's R-rated action they have wanted from a Venom story.