Marvel and Sony's Spider-Man 3 Villains Could Be Kraven the Hunter and Scorpion

A deadly duo could be on the hunt for Tom Holland's wanted wall-crawler in Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man 3. The untitled Far From Home sequel is reportedly now seeking a Joel Kinnaman-type actor for an unspecified role long speculated to be Kraven the Hunter, a Russian game hunter and mercenary, and just one of a few major Spidey supervillains yet to appear on film. Sergei Kravinoff's expected entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe would coincide with the transformation of Michael Mando's Mac Gargan into the Scorpion, who was stung by his encounter with the webhead in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

That film ended with a disfigured Gargan approaching the newly-jailed Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton), the grounded Vulture, before trying and failing to intimidate him into revealing Spider-Man's secret identity. By the time of the Jared Leto-starring Morbius, set in the MCU-adjacent Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters and taking place after Far From Home, Toomes is again on the loose.

Photos captured on the set of Morbius reveal Spider-Man has disappeared from the public eye since being framed for the supposed death of charlatan Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), who supplied Daily Bugle pundit J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) with doctored footage used to expose Peter Parker's secret identity.

With his identity no longer secret, and with Gargan possibly freed or escaped during the five-year time jump that occurred in Avengers: Endgame, the fugitive Spider-Man is positioned to be hounded by Kravinoff and a now-superpowered Gargan. In the Marvel comic books and most media depicting the characters, it's Jameson who backs Gargan's transformation into the Scorpion to prey on "masked menace" Spider-Man.

Returning director Jon Watts previously stated he "would love" to sic Kraven on Spider-Man, and Mando has hinted at his character's return to the MCU after sitting out Far From Home.

In 2017, amid rumors Sony was developing a Kraven the Hunter spinoff film, a studio executive indicated there were plans for the character; in 2018, the spinoff hired a screenwriter to develop the project inspired by famous Spider-Man story Kraven's Last Hunt.

The studio was said to be developing a Mysterio spinoff before that character appeared in Far From Home, paving the way for his inclusion as part of the roster of assembled supervillains calling themselves the Sinister Six. Kraven, Mysterio, and Scorpion have all served as members of the Sinister Six throughout the team's history, usually alongside recurring teammates Doctor Octopus, Sandman, and Vulture.

Sony continues to work towards bringing that group to the screen after a planned Sinister Six spinoff failed to materialize in the since-abandoned Amazing Spider-Man universe.

Plot details for Spider-Man 3 remain closely guarded, but producer Kevin Feige has described a Peter-focused sequel bringing Spider-Man out of the shadow of late mentor Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and the Avengers. Spider-Man 3 swings into theaters December 17, 2021.