Marvel Considered Kraven the Hunter for 3 Movies but Sony Rejected Each Time

Avatar photoValentina Kraljik
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‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has recently rewritten box office history, with Tom Holland’s fourth solo outing surpassing ‘Avengers: Endgame’ to achieve the largest domestic opening ever. Such monumental success often leads to a surge of behind-the-scenes revelations, and this film is no exception, as writers and directors are now sharing ideas that never made it to the final cut.

One name that frequently appears in these discussions is Kraven the Hunter, the iconic Spider-Man villain. He has seemingly haunted Marvel Studios’ plans for years, emerging as a discarded option in various projects long before Sony decided to give him his own standalone film.

Screenwriter Chris McKenna confirmed that Kraven was seriously considered as the antagonist for ‘Brand New Day’. An early script envisioned him transforming New York into a citywide trap for Spider-Man, reminiscent of ‘Home Alone’, complete with booby traps scattered throughout the city. Ultimately, Marvel and Sony shelved this idea when Sony moved ahead with its own ‘Kraven the Hunter’ film, redirecting the writers towards Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey instead.

This was not Kraven’s first encounter with rejection. Director Ryan Coogler expressed his desire to include Kraven in the original ‘Black Panther’, inspired by Christopher Priest’s acclaimed comic run where the hunter faces T’Challa in an early kitchen fight. Coogler recounted on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he directly asked Marvel if he could feature Kraven in the film, but the request was swiftly denied by Sony, which holds the film rights to Spider-Man characters.

According to a widely circulated industry recap, this means that Marvel sought to use Kraven in three distinct MCU projects: ‘Black Panther’, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, and now ‘Brand New Day’. The character’s absence from ‘No Way Home’ aligns with the film’s already crowded villain roster, which featured returning actors for Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus instead of introducing new characters. Sony’s decision to reserve Kraven for its own franchise ultimately meant Marvel never received the green light, regardless of how often the character was discussed in the writers’ room.

Ironically, Sony’s protective stance did not yield the expected results. The standalone ‘Kraven the Hunter’ film performed poorly at the box office and failed to resonate with audiences upon its release, making the years of blocked crossover attempts even more painful for fans eager to see the character alongside Spider-Man or the Avengers.

Screenshot 2026 08 06 at 10 43 05 Spider Man Brand New Day Rotten Tomatoes

Whether Kraven still has a place in the MCU remains uncertain now that ‘Brand New Day’ has shifted focus to Jean Grey as its main antagonist. McKenna’s description of the abandoned booby trap concept has sparked excitement on social media, with fans envisioning what a Kraven-led hunt through New York could have looked like on screen. For now, he remains yet another entry in the growing list of villains, alongside Chameleon and the Shadow King, that the Spider-Man franchise has developed and then set aside before ‘Brand New Day’ ultimately delivered the story audiences experienced this summer.

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