Spider-Man: No Way Home Was Almost a Kraven the Hunter Story

Next week, Peter Parker will take on the multiverse in Spider-Man: No Way Home (likely getting some help from some previous Spider-Man stars). Bringing in elements of other Spider-Man franchises that had nothing to do with the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a challenge for Marvel Studios and Sony, and there are plenty of ways it could’ve fallen apart. Had something kept No Way Home from coming together, there was a backup plan for the story, and it involved iconic Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter.

While speaking to Collider ahead of No Way Home‘s debut, Tom Holland revealed that there was a pitch to have No Way Home focus on Peter and Kraven, with the latter serving as the main villain.

“For a long time, there was going to be a Kraven movie that was going to be the third movie because things weren’t working out and all sorts of different stuff,” Holland explained. “Jon [Watts] pitched me this Kraven movie, which actually was really cool. I don’t want to talk about it in case that movie ends up happening down the line, but it was fun.”

Kraven would have made sense for the villain of this Spider-Man movie, and he was who many fans theorized would serve as the film’s main antagonist after the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scenes. With Peter’s identity now public information, and Spider-Man believed to be a murderer, he had to go on the run. Kraven being hired to hunt him down seemed like the logical next step in the story, but the ability to create a live-action Spider-Verse proved too enticing of an idea.

There’s no doubt Kraven will appear on-screen at some point in the future. He’s one of Spider-Man’s most popular rogues, and Holland makes it clear in the interview that he’d like that showdown to happen at some point. Then again, Sony may have a separate set of plans for the character. The studio is reportedly working on a solo Kraven movie with director J.C. Chandor and star Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The world of that movie could always collide with the MCU in the future, but Taylor-Johnson’s casting may make things tricky, since he has already appeared in the MCU as Quicksilver. 

Do you hope to see Kraven the Hunter in the MCU sometime soon? Let us know in the comments!