"You think you've some kind of honor? You are exactly like our father. Just another man hunting for a trophy."
Aleksei: Tell me about this hunter.
Henchman: They say he uses a connection with animals to track his prey. And once you're on his list, there's only one way off.
Henchman: They say he uses a connection with animals to track his prey. And once you're on his list, there's only one way off.
Kraven the Hunter is an upcoming 2024 Anti-Hero superhero film based on the comic book character of the same name by Marvel Comics and is the fifth installment of Sony's Spider-Man Universe. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role as well as Ariana DeBose, Russell Crowe, Fred Hechinger and Alessandro Nivola.
Years ago in an attempt to test his strength of character, Sergei Kravinoff's father (Crowe) took him out to hunt a lion which results in him being injured by the animal, his father leaving him to die. However Sergei (Taylor-Johnson) survives and develops a bond with the animal world after a drop of lion blood mixed with his own. Years later he has become a fearsome hunter known as Kraven who comes into conflict with his father while crossing paths with a woman named Calypso, his half-brother Dmitri and a man known as the Rhino.
Originally scheduled for October 6th, 2023, the film will release on December 13, 2024.
Previews: Red-Band Trailer
Kraven the Hunter contains examples of:
- Abusive Parents: Can't get more abusive than leaving your own son to die simply because he wouldn't kill a lion, which is what Kraven's father does to him according to the trailer. Later in the trailer he tries to hit a fully grown Kraven, who simply grabs his hand and tells him he can't do that to him anymore which confirms that his father was physically abusive.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: In the comics Kraven was a beefy man with rough facial features. Taylor-Johnson has a leaner build with youthful good looks.
- Adaptational Badass: While some versions give Kraven superhuman powers, he typically relies on chemicals and herbs to enhance his physical abilities to a level where he can fight characters like Spider-Man. The trailer shows his blood mixing with that of a lion, which appears to give him some sort of enhanced physical abilities as well as a connection with animals that he uses to hunt his enemies.
- Adaptational Backstory Change: In the comics Kraven's family fled to the United States during the February Revolution in 1917, being the son of an aristocrat who seemingly treated him well before growing up to became a world famous big game hunter. The 2023 comic The Lost Hunt also fleshed out his backstory to explain that his villainy and madness, as well as decision to become a hunter, was influenced by a failed Wakandan ritual that was supposed to help him confront his personal demons. The film gives him an Age Lift and turns his father into an Abusive Parent, having abandoned him as a teenager when he showed "weakness" by not killing a lion and according to the trailer swearing revenge on his father by hunting him and the people who work for him.
- Adaptational Heroism: The trailer implies this with Calypso, since in the comics she was a psychopath who encouraged Kraven's rage and hatred of Spider-Man. The trailer shows her calling him a lunatic, suggesting she finds his violent actions horrifying.
- Adaptational Relationship Overhaul: Calypso was introduced as an ally of Kraven's as well as his lover, and was supportive of his hatred for Spider-Man. The trailer shows her calling him a lunatic and it's implied that they are only recently meeting.
- Adaptational Villainy: Kraven's father was a pretty minor character in the comics, but Kraven never says he was a bad parent in any way. The trailer however shows him leaving his son to die simply because he was "weak".
- Age Lift: In the comics Kraven was born during the early 20th century and extended his lifespan though chemicals and potions. The scenes with young Kraven in the trailer seem to be set closer to the present, implying that Kraven looks his age and is therefore much younger in this version.
- Ascended Extra: Kraven's father is a pretty minor character in the comics, but the trailer hints that he plays a large role in the film.
- Bloodier and Gorier: The first SSU film to have an R-rating. The trailer uses this to actually show blood as Kraven kills his enemies, which the previous films noticeably lacked despite being about antiheroes fighting monstrous villains.
- Dark and Troubled Past: While Kraven has a sad backstory in the comics, his family fleeing the February Revolution while his mother went insane, the trailer shows that his father leaves him to die after being wounded by a lion and only surviving when he gets his powers.
- Man Bites Man: The trailer shows Kraven biting off a man's nose and spitting it out.
- Mythology Gag: One moment in the trailer shows Kraven surrounded by several spiders.
- Not Even Bothering with the Accent: As far as the first trailer shows, Aaron Taylor-Johnson doesn't use a Russian accent when playing Kraven, switching between an American one and his natural British one.
- Prequel: Kraven is shown in the trailer slowly assembling his iconic costume from the comics, with the trailer suggesting that by the end of the film he will have become the villain he's more famous for being. The film's official website says that it's "set before Kraven's notorious vendetta with Spider-Man".
- Villain Protagonist: Kraven being a big-game hunter, in other words a legal murderer, automatically qualifies as a villain and he is the protagonist of the story. He's shown in the trailer to be a brutal murderer while Calypso even calls him a lunatic, which he has no problem agreeing with.
- You Are What You Hate: Despite the trailer having Kraven accuse his father of simply bringing evil to the world, his half-brother Dmitri says that both of them are simply men hunting for a trophy.
"There is an animal in each one of us."
