With Spider-Man, Venom and Morbius, three major characters have already been introduced in Sony's Spider-Man Universe - with varying levels of success among fans. Of course, the universe will continue to expand in 2023. Besides the animated film "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" around Miles Morales, the next live-action film with a new main character awaits us in October. The talk is of "Kraven the Hunter".

With Kraven, the last of an infamous group of villains makes it into the Spider-Verse, bringing with it lots of speculation. Do you want to know what it's all about and don't want to search through hundreds of articles about the new Sony blockbuster? Well, perfect, because in this article we have compiled all available information and facts about "Kraven the Hunter" just for you!

The Sinister Six in the Spider-Man Universe

Let's talk about the aforementioned group of villains: Kraven's addition to the SSU means that the establishment of the so-called Sinister Six is becoming ever more likely. The members Venom and Morbius have been introduced with their own movies already, and Michael Keaton's Vulture is already known to us as well. He was in prison with none other than Scorpion in "Spider-Man: Homecoming". So with Kraven, we already have 5 out of 6 villains assembled.

Whether there will be an overlap with Morbius, Venom or Spidey in his solo film already, is not yet known. Their actors are not mentioned in the previously announced cast. However, a brief appearance of at least Spider-Man seems likely, since he is very closely associated with Kraven in the comic original. Should the 6th villain of the Sinister Six not yet play a major role in "Kraven the Hunter", we fully expect him to be teased at the end of the movie at the latest. Possible here are all kinds of antagonists from Spider-Man's film and comic book history.

Cast

We already know quite a bit about the cast of "Kraven the Hunter". However, it's unclear who exactly will be the antagonist and who will stand by Kraven's side. It's hard to tell, since we'll mainly be dealing with rather evil characters. In order for you to get an idea of the possible alliances yourself, we would like to present the cast and their characters in the comics in more detail. This also includes storylines that might also be adapted into the film in one way or another. So if you want to avoid any potential spoilers, you should rather skip this part of the Original episode.

Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven the Hunter

Of course, Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven the Hunter leads off the cast. He is played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. For the "Kick-Ass" and "Godzilla" star, this is already the second role played in a Marvel film: quite a few of you will know him as Wanda's brother Quicksilver from "Avengers: Age of Ultron".

Sergei comes from a noble family that had to flee Russia to the United States. Once there, Sergei is no longer part of the upper class, but a common citizen. He strives to become something extraordinary again and begins big-game hunting. During one of his travels, he meets the voodoo priestess Calypso. She mixes a mystical serum for him, which is supposed to give him the strength and speed of a lion: Thus Sergei Kravinoff becomes Kraven the Hunter.

Back in the USA, he first uses his new powers for good and even fights the Red Skull along with Nick Fury. It is only through his half-brother Dimitri that he becomes aware of Spider-Man. He has some issues with the friendly neighborhood spider and asks Kraven to support him in the fight. As a big-game hunter, Kraven's ambition is naturally awakened to hunt down what is probably the biggest spider in the world.

Dimitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon

Dimitri Smerdyakov, the aforementioned half-brother, is already confirmed for the film: Fred Hechinger will play the role of the so-called Chameleon. He was last seen in the Netflix crime thriller "The Pale Blue Eye". As the name of his alter ego suggests, Chameleon can disguise himself as any human being and mimic them perfectly.

Dimitri and Sergei have the same father. However, since Dimitri's mother was a simple servant, everyone in the family hated him. Since Sergei was subjected to his father's frustration, he in turn vented his own on Dimitri. Nevertheless, the latter always imitated his big brother and tried to impress him.

Once he goes to America, his skills turn out to be extremely useful. For example, he attempts to steal rocket codes while disguising himself as Spider-Man - marking the beginning of his feud with Peter Parker. Since Dimitri has no other superpowers worth noting, he eventually turns to his brother for help.

Calypso

Of course, the movie also features the voodoo priestess, who uses her mystical serum to give Kraven the powers that turn him into a superhero or villain. She is played by Ariana DeBose: the young actress made her breakthrough in Hollywood a while back and even won the Oscar for best supporting actress in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" in 2022.

Calypso not only turns Sergei into Kraven, but likewise keeps inciting him to fight Spider-Man. In the comics, she has already met Spidey several times: she bewitched Daredevil and the Lizard and sicced both of them on Peter Parker.

To what extent she will join Kraven in his solo film remains to be seen, of course. However, since the role is cast by such a top-class actress, we do expect we'll get to see her quite often.

The Foreigner

Another villain will be the Foreigner. He will be played by Christopher Abbott, who has been featured in the drama "First Man" and the series "Catch-22", for example. Who exactly the Foreigner is, is also not clear from the comics. The Spider-Man antagonist is a feared mercenary and assassin. He can also hypnotize people for a short time, which makes him dangerous for superheroes as well, of course. He is also in touch with Sergei's brother Dimitri on a regular basis.

Privately, we only know that he has been involved with the one or other woman from Spider-Man's life, though they have not played any part in the previous films. More interesting: He is good friends with Kingpin, who last appeared in "Hawkeye". The gangster boss might also be integrated into the Spider-Verse in this way.

Roles Not Yet Confirmed

Three actors are on the cast list of "Kraven the Hunter" for which we don't have a confirmed role yet. In first position is Russell Crowe. He only had a superhero appearance as Zeus, the father of the Gods, in "Thor: Love and Thunder" in 2022. It is imaginable that he will take on the role of Kraven's father, Nikolai Kravinoff, in order to better illuminate the family's backstory.

The young Levi Miller will also be playing a part. He made his breakthrough as Peter Pan in the 2015 film "Pan". So far, there are no clues as to who he will play. Possible are young versions of Sergei or Dimitri.

Last but not least, we have Alessandro Nivola: he stated in some interviews that he will play the main antagonist of Kraven. However, who exactly that will be still remains a mystery. But the character is supposed to be a classic Spider-Man villain, whose psyche and personality will be the main focus. This is reportedly also what prompted Nivola to accept the role. We can't wait to find out who the filmmakers will present as the big adversary.

Plot Theories

There is plenty of room for speculation as to how all the storylines from the comics will ultimately be realized in the film. Without a trailer or official details about the plot, there are only a few clues. However, a few key points are considered very likely:

Since the character has not appeared in other movies so far, it will surely be an origin story. We believe that Sergei's backstory will play an important role. We'll probably be following the young Kraven from Russia to America and experience the frustration of a family that was at the very top and ended up at rock bottom.

This theory is backed up by Alessandro Nivola: He confirmed in an interview that there will be a big time jump within the movie. There will be complex character developments - so we will get to meet different Kravens.

Two brothers who want to prove it to everyone and a main character who, after meeting Calypso, has to look out for what he should use his new powers for: sounds like the fitting Spider-Man saying "With great power comes great responsibility", doesn't it?

We can expect Kraven, much like Venom and Morbius, to emerge as an anti-hero rather than a typical villain. It's entirely possible that he will initially act selfishly due to his family history, but end up undergoing a transformation - albeit not into a shining Spidey-type superhero. We're curious to see whether Kraven and Calypso's romantic entanglements from the comics will also play a role in the movie. At least a touch of magical seduction would certainly suit the voodoo priestess.

Big questions remain about Spider-Man's role. Despite his great importance in the comics, it is improbable that he will show up a lot, if at all, in the first Kraven film. No matter what you read about the project, you won't find Peter Parker's name anywhere. What is conceivable is that Dimitri will have problems with the Foreigner and Kraven will have to bail him out. Via the Foreigner and the main antagonist, one can find the turning point to Spider-Man at the end - perhaps as a post-credits scene?

Production

The director's chair for "Kraven the Hunter" is reserved for J. C. Chandor. This is the director and screenwriter's first time working on a superhero movie. Most recently, he was in charge of the 2019 Netflix film "Triple Frontier", where he was able to direct stars such as Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam and Pedro Pascal. The screenplay was written by Richard Wenk, Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. The role of Kraven was originally offered to Keanu Reeves, who declined with thanks, however.

Shooting for the film started in London in February 2022 and was already concluded in mid-June 2022. One special feature of the film is to do without an excess of CGI effects. Instead, the physical abilities of the characters are to be portrayed as realistically as possible.

"Kraven the Hunter" is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on October 6, 2023. We therefore hope to see a first trailer for the film anytime soon.