Kraven the Hunter Trailer Reveals First Look at Rhino

The newest trailer for Kraven the Hunter gives fans an official look at the villainous Rhino. The Spider-Man spinoff film features Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the role of Sergei Kravinoff, aka our titular Kraven. Similar to other Spider-Man-adjacent films under Sony Pictures, Kraven the Hunter casts our focal character as an anti-hero, which makes sense since characters like Kraven, Mobius, and even Venom began as enemies of the web-slinger. But with Kraven playing the role of our protagonist, his feature film needs a villain, and that’s where The Rhino comes into play. 

Around the two-minute mark of the Kraven the Hunter trailer we see Alessandro Nivola’s Aleksei Sytsevich begin his transformation into Rhino. Alessandro unpins a medical needle from his lower right side, with the camera giving a closeup of his hands. Both hands begin to bubble with a grey substance, similar to a Rhino’s tough exterior. Next, an action scene shows Kraven running and leaping onto the back of a jeep as boars pace beside it. Suddenly, the massive Rhino throws a punch at Kraven that he’s able to dodge, so Rhino’s fist goes through the top of the jeep. Rhino finally uses his large frame to stop the jeep in its tracks, sending Kraven flying through the air.

Kraven the Hunter director teases the Spider-Man film’s R-rating

After being pushed back amid the 2023 writers’ and actors’ strikes and a round of “strategic” reshoots, Sony’s thrice-delayed Spider-Man spinoff Kraven the Hunter — which has received an R rating for “strong bloody violence and language” after dropping its blood-soaked red-band trailer more than a year ago — is now slated to debut in December. Director J.C. Chandor believes the R-rated flick will surprise moviegoers.

“I’m extremely proud of the work we have all done together on Kraven,” Chandor told Deadline. “When the movie finally gets its chance to be seen I think it’s gonna surprise the hell out of a lot of people.”

According to Deadline, the delays allowed the director “to sharpen the characters and tighten the plot,” which tells “the visceral story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be” in an origin story set before his notorious vendetta with Spider-Man.

What is Kraven the Hunter about?

Directed by J.C. Chandor, Kraven the Hunter is the visceral, action-packed origin story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared. The movie stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Christopher Abbott, and Alessandro Nivola.

Kraven the Hunter is scheduled for release in December.