Kraven the Hunter: One of Rhino’s Funniest Moments Ended Up in the Deleted Scenes

There’s not a lot about Kraven the Hunter that movie fans can say they really loved. The already infamous box office bomb is going to be remembered as the movie that put the nail in Sony’s Marvel universe coffin, and very little conversation about Kraven will ever be positive. The one major exception to that, however, is Alessandro Nivola’s portrayal of Aleksei Sytsevich, aka the Rhino.

Nivola often feels like he’s in a different movie than everyone else in Kraven the Hunter, ramping up the camp and silliness to create a villain that is endlessly enjoyable. All of the most memorable scenes in the movie include Rhino, but perhaps one of the character’s funniest moments didn’t actually make the final cut.

Kraven the Hunter arrived on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, giving fans the chance to explore the special features included on the home release. One such special feature is a short list of deleted scenes. The final scene in the lineup is called “Kraven Is Dead” and it comes from the final act of the movie, and it includes even more hilarity from Nivola.

The scene takes place after Rhino’s men think the Foreigner killed Kraven. He is told about Kraven’s death and reacts with a wacky little laugh, the kind that he managed to deliver at the funniest times throughout the movie. Rhino then takes the opportunity to remind everyone just how petty and ruthless he is, as he tells his henchmen to keep Chameleon in custody because “his father might pay up now that he only has one son.”

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Reading it on a page doesn’t quite do justice to how funny Nivola makes every one of Rhino’s lines. He’s able to achieve a level of believable yet outlandish insanity with the character that exists solely to make you enjoy the movie each time he appears.

The scene goes on to show Rhino (still in human form) trying to get one of the dogs to listen to him. The dog disobeys and runs back into the woods, low-key hinting that Kraven might still be alive. Nivola gets a very quick reaction shot and the look on his face is priceless, equal parts frustrated, sad, and bewildered that his dog might not love him as much as he assumed. It’s a very simple thing but Nivola is so effective in his performance that he turns the moment into something genuinely funny.

If you want to see more of Alessandro Nivola’s Rhino, Kraven the Hunter is now available on 4K, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD. You can purchase your copy here.