Theory: Venom 2 Will Introduce Kraven the Hunter Before His Solo Movie

It’s possible that ahead of his solo movie, Kraven the Hunter will make his live-action debut in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. At this point, Kraven is the most important Spider-Man villain who has never appeared on the big screen. Kraven has been discussed as a possibility by filmmakers involved in the Spider-Man movies in the past, but never has he actually been used.

In Marvel Comics, Spider-Man has often had to contend with Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven the Hunter, a Russian who traveled to America in pursuit of his goal, which is to hunt and catch the most dangerous prey on the planet. In 1964, Kraven set his sights on the wallcrawler, and thus an intense, long-lasting rivalry was born. Armed with knives, spears, traps, and a tactical mind, the character has made multiple attempts to prove himself as the greatest hunter in the world by killing Spider-Man. Though Parker has always been his greatest enemy, Kraven has also been engaged in conflicts with other Marvel Comics heroes, such as Captain America, Daredevil, Black Panther, Ka-Zar, and even the Hulk.

Though Kraven the Hunter was heavily rumored to be the villain who battles Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in Marvel’s untitled third Spider-Man 3, it would seem that Sony Pictures has plans for the character in its own shared universe of Spider-Man characters, which includes villains like Venom, Carnage, and Morbius. It could be that these plans involve Sony putting Kraven in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Sony Is Making A Kraven the Hunter Movie

Aside from Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius, Sony has other Marvel movies in development, one of which being a film centered on Kraven the Hunter. In 2018, it was reported that a script supposedly inspired by the 1990s story “Kraven’s Last Hunt” was written by Richard Wenk. As recently as August, it was said that a new script from Matt Holloway and Art Marcum had been turned in, with Triple Frontier director J.C. Chandor attached to helm the project.

Several Spider-Man spinoffs have been revealed to be in the works at one point or another at Sony, including Nightwatch, The Sinister Six, Silver & Black, and Madame Web, but its hard to say if and when these movies will actually move forward. Silver & Black, for instance, has already been scrapped. But Kraven the Hunter finding a director indicates that its further along than most of the others.

Venom 2 Can Better Setup Kraven Before His Solo Film

Instead of saving Kraven for his solo movie, Sony could introduce him early, with a good place for his debut being Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Going this route could be a good move for Sony, especially when considering how Kraven’s popularity compares to Venom’s. Kraven is well-known to Spider-Man fans of course, but not to movie audiences in general, since he’s thus far only been in comic books and cartoons. On the other hand, Venom is immensely popular. Plus, his first movie made an impressive $856.1 million at the worldwide box office, creating huge expectations for the sequel. So with Venom 2 potentially having a massive audience as well, Sony will have an opportunity to provide Kraven with plenty of exposure if it chooses to give him a role in the movie. Even if Venom: Let There Be Carnage can only give him a small amount of screen time, it could be enough to establish some familiarity and enthusiasm for Kraven the Hunter.

Venom 2 Needs More Than Just Symbiote Villains

Venom’s post-credits scene set up Eddie Brock’s next main villain by revealing Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady aka Carnage, who will soon transform into the deadly symbiote villain, Carnage. The problem that Sony needs to avoid is recreating the formula of the first movie, which was to have Venom fight a group of symbiote villains. Venom: Let There Be Carnage needs to be more unique by letting him battle opponents who feel inherently different from him and the characters from the first film. After Venom, a villain who isn’t created from CGI feels like something Venom 2 desperately needs. Shriek (Naomie Harris), a mutant in Marvel Comics with a sonic scream ability, is a step in the right direction, but Venom 2 can go a bit further with that idea by including an action sequence where Venom goes up against a second character not bonded with a symbiote. The villain who may be the best candidate for that role is Kraven the Hunter.

It’s possible that at some point in the movie, Kraven hears about Venom and decides to make him his latest prey. A fight could ensue, which could end with one of the two characters getting away. Though he doesn’t possess any real super powers, Kraven would make for an intriguing foe. The comics have shown that Kraven can fight Venom, and anyone who can go toe-to-toe with a character as powerful as him and rely purely on skills and tactics (and live to tell the tale) would have to be extremely formidable. What would make him even more impressive is if the fights end in a tie, as opposed to having Kraven lose his first on-screen fight. So if the movie handles him correctly, Venom 2 can leave viewers with a good impression of Kraven and his capabilities. A post-credits scene in Venom 2 could revisit Kraven and tease him deciding to hunt a different target, since his battle with Venom didn’t go as planned. This person, whether it be Spider-Man or a different animal-themed Marvel Comics hero, could serve as Kraven’s primary opponent in his solo film.

Kraven Can Make Venom A Better Anti-Hero

Sony shouldn’t put Kraven in Venom 2 if its only purpose is to provide a boost to another movie. However, Kraven can improve the film by making Venom a better anti-hero. Venom positioned the character to be a vigilante going forward, but the sequel can focus on the “anti-hero” element of the character from the comics. Having Venom save the city from an evil symbiote isn’t the best way to do that. A more fun way to handle it is to have self-preservation be one of his biggest motivations. That would certainly be the case against Kraven, since his intention would be to bring Venom’s head home as a trophy. Venom having a reputation that makes others want to prove themselves by hunting him down would make him even more exciting and interesting as an anti-hero.