When Sony took over the Spider-Man universe spinoffs, we started to see more of an approach to the protagonists. In their original stories, Venom and Morbius, for example, are villains, but after their solo movies, they ended up becoming antiheroes. Kraven the Hunter was no different, but perhaps it was an opportunity to make the character resonate with the audience. However, it wasn’t enough, and the film was the last of these collaborations with Marvel Studios, and it didn’t even beat the box office numbers of its predecessors. With all this failure, you have to wonder what comes next.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Kraven is considered one of the greatest villains in the Spider-Man universe, and now with the hero’s fourth film announced, will he be lost, with no chance of returning to face the web-slinger? In terms of possibility, the outlook could be positive, as Sony seems to be focused on the upcoming Spider-Man movie, and the ending of Kraven the Hunter has opened up doors. But how can they make him obnoxious like in his original stories after presenting him as an inherently good and sympathetic character? Is it still possible to see him become obsessed with Peter Parker, but still make sense in a natural way, with what has been shown to the public?
Kraven the Hunter Is Still a Great Villain for Spider-Man
Warning: Spoilers below for Kraven the Hunter
With Kraven inside the MCU, it opens up several opportunities for the character to meet Spider-Man. However, it’s also important to remember that the entire original story of Kraven the Hunter is centered on his obsession with the web-slinging hero. One of the film adaptation’s decisions was to place him not as a hunter of animals, but as a hunter of criminals. Because of this, exploiting his predator mentality is a bit unfeasible to make him a villain, however, Spider-Man: Far From Home showed in a video to everyone that the web-slinger killed Mysterio for a completely selfish reason. At the same time, Peter was erased from memory by Doctor Strange’s spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the hero himself exists and is remembered. Even though we don’t know how this will be resolved right now, that reason is enough for Kraven to go after the boy, considering him a wrongdoer.
Another reason is Venom. After the events of the third Spider-Man movie, the post-credits scenes revealed the creature’s interest in Peter, who, before being pulled into its universe, leaves a small symbiote behind. Venom: The Last Dance was able to elaborate on this a bit better, but it did give Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man a chance to return (the possibility seems quite valid). This also gives Kraven the opportunity to go after this variant of the hero, as in the comics when Peter bonds with the alien symbiote, making his behavior start to change to become more aggressive and violent. This shift could draw Kraven’s attention.
[RELATED: Kraven the Hunter Director Addresses Whether Spider-Man Universe Stumbles Are Impacting the Film]
Also, a big opportunity opens the way for a plan that Sony itself has had in mind for some time which Marvel Studios could take advantage of – the Sinister Six. With the introduction of not only Kraven, but also Morbius, this group of villains is now all set to go after Peter. Considering the current context and producer Amy Pascal’s words about the future Spider-Man movie, having him fight his main enemies could be a very fitting idea right now.
Another possibility could be an inevitable rivalry for honor. Kraven is originally a born hunter, so he could well believe that defeating Spider-Man is necessary, almost seeing hunting as a “rite of passage” rather than something more aligned with evil. His film pointed out that his greatest fear is spiders, which already gives some sense of a connection between the two in the cinematic universe. In this case, the possibility of it happening seems unlikely, but considering the relevance of the scene where he fears the insect, it might be another reason to oppose the hero.
In the end, being an antihero doesn’t help Kraven much when he gets involved in the same scenario as Spider-Man. Although there are fans who might connect with him because they understand his motivations and the reasons behind his choices to kill, good will always tend to win out over evil. This goes even for an idea where he might act wrongly, not out of malice, but out of a distorted vision of justice. How many times have we seen villains act wrongly and commit atrocities because of their twisted beliefs? If there’s one thing the public has learned over the years, it’s that anything is possible in the MCU.
How Kraven the Hunter Could Make His Way into the MCU Now
The ending of Kraven the Hunter clearly established his enmity with his brother Dmitri, who becomes the Chameleon. This sets up a promising storyline, with the potential introduction of characters like Miles Warren, the Jackal, for example. Since he is Kraven’s enemy in the comics and no sequel is expected, Kraven could clearly head to New York in search of him and cross paths with Peter. Sony’s production decided to follow the original story as closely as possible, even though there were some adaptations such as the character’s origin. However, director J.C. Chandor made a point of stating that the intention was really “trying to build off the spirit of that original document,” which means that this idea could very well happen in the future.
The fact is that there’s no point in a Spider-Man movie sequel without one of his main villains, who has also just been introduced to the big screen, and whom many fans have been waiting to see clash with for a long time. The lack of Peter in Kraven the Hunter and other spin-off projects of the universe ended up forcing Kraven to become an antihero, but that’s not his essence. On top of that, the ending of the film is a great chance that should be seized and not forgotten. However, even if he doesn’t quite get the villainous role that everyone wants to see, at least he has a good chance of joining the team of iconic and favorite villains like the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus.
