Kraven the Hunter trailer: Sony’s gone and ruined the next Marvel baddie

Luca Fontana

21.6.2023

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

In the first Kraven the Hunter trailer, Sony Pictures appears to have dedicated a worthy and adequately brutal film to the Spider-Man villain. But after taking a closer look, my enthusiasm gives way to pure outrage. Is Sony about to butcher yet another Marvel villain?

«F**k yes!» were lead actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s words after a select audience were given a sneak peek of Kraven the Hunter at last year’s CinemaCon. How come? Because the Spider-Man villain origin movie was rated R. R stands for bloody and brutal images. The kind you see in a horror movie. The first official Red Band trailer is correspondingly barbaric. For example, when an enraged Kraven bites the nose off a hoodlum’s face. Ouch.

But I’m sceptical. Not because of the age rating. On the contrary; it suits the character’s essence. Kraven’s known for his brute force. But the Kraven movie is so far removed from the comic book it’s based on, I fear Sony will completely ruin the character.

Who’s Kraven in the comics?

Kraven isn’t an ordinary person. He was born Sergei Kravinoff in 1917 in Volgograd, Russia. His school of life was the Russian Revolution. The country where he was born was in danger of collapsing under the weight of social, political and economic inequality. As a result, the farmers and workers began to revolt against the elitist upper class and tsarist rule. The Kravinoffs, a wealthy Russian family, were forced to flee Russia and settled in Africa. There, Sergei would soon make a name for himself as the greatest hunter who ever lived:

Kraven.

His career was no accident. Even before the revolution, Kraven’s family came from a long line of hunters and warriors. Accordingly, his upbringing was strict, merciless and brutal. As a child he was already extensively taught various hunting techniques and martial arts. But it was only through mystical rituals and the consumption of a special herb that he gained superhuman strengths and stamina. This made him the most feared hunter of his time. The herbs also gave him an unnaturally long life.

Kraven travelled the world, collecting an impressive number of exotic animals and trophies on the way. But what he took most pride in was his ability to hunt without weapons. No matter how large and dangerous his prey, Kraven the hunter would kill it with his bare hands. But after decades of hunting, he realised that his traditional hunting targets no longer gave him satisfaction. That’s when he turned his attention to the new, ultimate prey: Spider-Man.

Now for the movie: a watered-down character?

In the comic books, Kraven isn’t the type of villain you pity. He’s cruel. Ruthless. Totally inhumane. This man kills animals for the pleasure of the hunt. And once he gets bored, he turns his attention to a superhero. The greater the challenge, the better. Brutal, right? But what makes Kraven truly fascinating as a villain is his methodology. The way he hunts. Kraven always watches his prey closely before attacking. He assesses their strengths, analyses their weaknesses. And then devises a cunning plan to stay one step ahead.

Movie Kraven feels far removed from that. It feels as if all his edge was taken off. It’s not Kraven who’s portrayed as evil, but his cold-hearted father, played by Russell Crowe. And when Kraven reveals why he hunts in the trailer, it can’t help but roll my eyes:

«My father puts evil into the world. I take it out.»

Yeah, sure. So Kraven is doing the world a favour? Just not in the same way your regular superhero would? Then that would make Kraven, well, perhaps not an anti-hero, but maybe an anti-villain? Yaaawn! After Venom, Morbius and Black Adam, it’s about time the supervillain genre finally got a supervillain movie that actually takes the word «supervillain» seriously. Kraven the Hunter doesn’t seem to be that movie.

In fact, in the trailer, Kraven’s father comes across as much truer to the comic book Kraven. And that’s not just because of the Russell Crowe looks and his deep voice. It’s this villainous, thoroughly depraved and merciless essence that reminds me much more of Kraven from the comics than Aaron Taylor-Johnson with his silky-smooth English, perfect face and greased-up eight-pack.

Nuh-uh, not my Kraven

What really takes the biscuit is the scene in the trailer in which Kraven gets his superhuman powers. While he’s trying to kill a lion, the blood of the big cat seeps into one of Kraven’s wounds. And gets into his bloodstream. Right. So this turns him into a super hunter. It’s a wonder the lion wasn’t radioactive. At least that aspect made Spider-Man’s spider special. Kraven gets more than just the strength of the lion. He can now also make some kind of connection with animals. He can summon them to help him hunt down daddy’s evil cronies. Probably mercenaries. This seems to be fine by Hollywood. Mercenaries are depicted as the dregs of humanity, who deserve it. Another thing that was already done in Morbius and Black Adam.

The worst part? Animals are now Kraven’s allies. Allies! Kraven the hunter, who murders animals for kicks and glory in the comics, allies with them in the movie! Dear Sony, why oh why can’t a villain just be a villain? What’s up with all the watering down? Especially in an R-rated film aimed at an adult audience that doesn’t need to worry about potentially leaving young moviegoers shaken. I fear Sony shed its shackles for nothing.

What’s more, Sony wouldn’t have to look very far to see how Kraven’s done properly. Quite the opposite, in fact. It’s very own game development studio Insomniac Games knows how it’s done. Kraven the Hunter will be making his grand debut for PlayStation 5 in Spider-Man 2. Please watch this trailer and tell me it’s not a hundred times better and truer to the book.

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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