Sony Pictures has released the first trailer for the next movie in its live-action Spider-Man universe, Kraven the Hunter.
Following on from the likes of Morbius and Venom, Kraven the Hunter will be a solo story detailing the origins of the iconic Marvel villain.
Former MCU star Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the lead in the film, Sergei Kravinoff, a Russian hunter out to prove himself to the world. The actor has described Kraven as being a "conservationist" and "protector of the natural world".
Joining Taylor-Johnson is an all-star cast that includes the likes of Ariana DeBose and Russell Crowe. Plot details of the film are still largely under wraps but the release of the first trailer has shed some light on the upcoming Marvel film.
First Trailer for Kraven the Hunter Released
During the Sony Pictures panel at CinemaCon 2023, attendees were given a first look at the trailer for Kraven the Hunter.
Descriptions of the footage shown reveal that Kraven is "animalistic" and "vicious" and is seen holding his iconic fur vest from the comics.
It's been confirmed that Kraven the Hunter will be rated R and the footage shown seems to align with that.
Screen Rant's Rob Keyes described a clip of Kraven biting "a dude's nose off and spitting it at the camera". ComicBookMovie added that the footage features "lots of blood" and "lots of f-bombs" and sees Kraven ripping out throats.
Discussing Film reiterated the violence, saying Kraven "uses all kinds of weapons, from spears to bear traps, to decapitate and chop up goons" and apparently also "crawls around walls and pounces on foes like an animal." Ariana DeBose's mysterious character was also briefly seen, who is reported to be the Marvel character Calypso.
The outlet also revealed that Russell Crowe will play Kraven's father in the story and is the one who raised him in the ways of "hunter vs. prey". According to ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis the two will be in opposition, with Kraven vowing to be "nothing like his dad".
The trailer ends with the reveal of another iconic Marvel character, The Rhino, who is seen going through a physical transformation after injecting himself with a serum. This is accompanied by the line, "Don't you want to know why they call me The Rhino?"
Interestingly, Kraven's version of the character has opted not to use a mechanical version of the Rhino this time around, which was previously used in The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
A Violent Origin Story for Kraven
Both the R-rating and the gory footage from the trailer set up Kraven the Hunter to be unlike any other movie in Sony's Spider-Man universe.
The character is known for hunting down the most dangerous and difficult prey, but after Taylor-Johnson alluded to him being an "animal-lover" it seems this may be altered slightly in the film to position Kraven as a hunter of humans, rather than game.
Kraven has also been known to single out Spider-Man as his prey, but given Spider-Man's current family-friendly appeal, it seems unlikely that Tom Holland's character will appear in this film, although a crossover isn't impossible.
That being said, the film will draw from Spider-Man's gallery of villains with The Rhino now confirmed to be involved. The depiction of the Rhino in Kraven appears to be more comic-accurate, with the character physically transforming into an animal, rather than wearing a mechanical suit as seen in Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man 2.
Additionally, it seems that Russell Crowe's father figure will also be an antagonist for Kraven in the film, although it's unclear if he will be connected to The Rhino in any way.
Kraven the Hunter is set to release in theatres on October 6.
