Kraven the hunter has fumbled in its cinema premiere, but Spider-Man: Far From Home could have been the perfect starting point for Spidey’s nemesis. Kraven the hunter hit theaters as the closing chapter Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe. As with the rest of that franchise, the Web-Slinger was never invited to any of his own villain’s solo films.
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With Kraven as one of Spider-Man’s oldest and most formidable villains, fate struck Kraven the hunter is regrettable – especially since it was avoidable all along. 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home already provided the perfect setup for Kraven to battle Spidey in a much more exciting big-screen debut than Kraven the hunter gave to the character.
Mysterio framed Spidey for his murder far from home (but could have gone further)
Despite his death in Spider-Man: Far From HomeJake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio took revenge on Peter Parker from beyond the grave by releasing a video to J. Jonah Jameson (JK Simmons) revealing Spidey’s identity to the world. Mysterio went even further by shaping the video to make it look like Spider-Man had murdered a man many had come to see as a traveling multiverse hero. With the Wall-Crawler now accused of murder, Sony could have taken the opportunity to make Mysterio’s smear campaign go even further with Spidey linked to organized crime as a result.
This could have been implemented as either another layer of Mysterio framing Spider-Man, or simply media running with a story smearing Spidey as a villain. In either case, Spider-Man being slandered as a player in the criminal underworld would have made him a target for many eager to avenge Mysterio. In turn, this could have been how Sony introduced Kraven into the mix as one of many assassins targeting Spider-Man in the aftermath of Mysterio’s framing of Peter Parker.
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Kraven could have started hunting Spider-Man after Mysterio set him up
As a result of Spider-Man’s public slander as Mysterio’s would-be assassin, Kraven would have incentive to hunt down the webhead—especially with Kraven the hunter portrays Sergei Kravenoff as a manhunter. Using the same basic depiction of Kraven from his solo film into the bridge between Spider-Man: Far From Home and Spider-Man: No Way Home could have made Kraven an active participant in the Spider-Man series with a similar persona and motivation that he eventually had in his own film.
Of course, Kraven’s involvement at the time could also have significantly rewritten Sony’s overall Spider-Man franchise, starting with his theoretical role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Bringing Kraven into the mix could have basically brought the full-blown Sinister Six into play No way homedepending on the extent of Kraven’s role. Alternatively, the Kraven could also have been held in reserve as the villain off Spider-Man 4still on the hunt for Spider-Man (rather than just Peter Parker) as Mysterio’s killer, after Doctor Strange’s memory spell. That Kraven instead went the way he did only highlights the biggest problem with Sony’s Universe of Spider-Man Villains.
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Kraven is one of Sony’s biggest missed opportunities with Spider-Man villains
It’s fair to say that Sony’s Universe of Spider-Man Villains was an almost entirely directionless one cinematic universe except for Married trilogy. It has also been revealed that it never had to be, as Sony always had the option to include a version of Spider-Man in the franchise, per their contract with Marvel Studios. The fact that neither Spidey’s clairvoyant ally Madame Web nor any of Sony’s Spider-Man villains have ever met Spider-Man himself (outside of Venom’s brief trip to the MCU where he sees Tom Holland’s Spidey on TV) is a big fumble on Sony’s part. That Kraven is never the ultimate hunter hunting Spidey is also one of the biggest unforced errors Sony has made.
The demands chasing Spider-Man in the urban landscape of New York City could have provided one Predator 2 quality to Kraven’s role as a Spidey nemesis. The admittedly impressive chase and fight scenes in Kraven the hunter could also have been used in an actual Spider-Man movie, which would certainly have greatly increased his cinematic stock compared to the instant box office and terrible critical reception Kraven the hunter stopped suffering. The claims’ potential to give Spider-Man a run for its money is unfortunately one of the biggest examples of unfulfilled potential for Sony’s Spider-Man villains, especially with Spider-Man: Far From HomeThe ending shows that there was always a way to make it happen. Hopefully, Tom Hardy’s hope for Venom to fight Spider-Man eventually pan out so Sony’s Spider-Man Villain Universe isn’t a total loss.
Kraven the hunter now playing in theaters.
