“We were taking meetings about it, and going, ‘Well, what would this movie be if it wasn’t in the MCU?’,” recalls McKenna of the process that briefly considered a Kraven movie villain run. “It was like any time you have a limitation thrown on you,” adds Sommers. “Then it creates possibilities and spurs all sorts of creative discussions. Fortunately, they [Sony and Marvel] came to their agreement before we were too far down any road, and we were able to jump right in with the old team.”

If the writers were forced to carry on Spidey’s cinematic legacy without acknowledging his firmly-established MCU ties, then they could have done worse than having Kraven the Hunter as the main villain. After all, Kraven is a clear A-list villain from the almost-sixty-year annals of Spider-Man’s comic book exploits, having debuted in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man #15. The character, born Sergei Nikolaievich Kravinoff, was initially depicted as a tenacious trophy hunter of dangerous game, the deadlier the better; a trade for which he is more than prepared physically, especially after black magic and Voodoo potions enhanced him with beastly apex predator-level speed, strength and reflexes. Thus, unsatisfied with hunting animals, the surge of attention to a certain media-maligned New York superhero inspired Kraven to turn the Big Apple into his own personal Spider-Man safari, creating a rivalry for the ages.

As if Kraven’s status as an iconic Spider-Man villain—and an inaugural member of evil tandem the Sinister Six—wasn’t enough credibility for a movie villain run, his rivalry with the Wall-Crawler evolved to a personal level over the decades. Indeed, he would come to be defined by Marvel’s 1987 storyline, “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” in which the obsessed stalker, for all intents and purposes, accomplishes his goal of defeating Spider-Man. However, in a moment that stands as a prime example of mainstream comics delving into dark places, Kraven, having fulfilled his longtime life purpose, famously commits suicide. Yet, typical of the comic book industry, various spins on the character would subsequently manifest, notably in reboot titles.

Indeed, Spider-Man’s fugitive status could have provided the perfect context for Kraven to arrive in New York—perhaps even followed by a camera crew, akin to his “Ultimate” quasi-reality-star comic version—to publicly pursue a quest for glory by tracking down our on-the-run Spidey, attempting to mount the Wall-Crawler’s figurative (or maybe literal) pelt on his mantle, potentially with Jameson’s help. In fact, the idea of Kraven being a movie villain was prominently pursued by director Ryan Coogler for Marvel’s groundbreaking 2018 smash, Black Panther, although the idea was quickly shut down due to the character’s unavailability. However, Kraven’s big screen debut is imminent one way or another, especially with Sony’s long-gestating spinoff movie project—a cold-intro stratagem akin to Venom—which, if current plans hold, will see Aaron Taylor-Johnson tackle the role.    

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