There’s one classic Spider-Man villain that Sony Pictures actively prevented from appearing in No Way Home.
In the final film that audiences saw, both Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures pulled together five previous villains from the franchise’s history and teamed up against Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Sandman, Lizard, and Electro all showed up. Needless to say, it resulted in a spectacle—one that is often claimed to be the best MCU outing in recent years.
Had those baddies not grouped up, what other options could have played out? Perhaps the dangling Scorpion subplot could have been resolved, or Kingpin might’ve made himself known to the wallcrawler.
There was one other key possibility, however.
Spider-Man: No Way Home's Original Villain Plan Revealed
MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, written by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards, recently hit shelves, and in it, a treasure trove of new stories about the MCU was revealed.
One of those new nuggets of information pertains to Spider-Man: No Way Home. According to the book, writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, after pitching Kraven the Hunter as the villain of the third movie, were explicitly told that the character "was unavailable until Sony established him in a solo movie."
This isn't the first time fans have heard about Kraven being considered as the antagonist for Tom Holland's third Spider-Man film. But it is the first confirmation that the villain was considered unavailable to use due to Sony's plans for him.
Holland previously revealed that director Jon Watts "pitched [him] this Kraven movie," which the actor didn't want to elaborate on "in case that movie ends up happening:"
"For a long time, there was going to be a Kraven movie that was going to be the third movie because things weren’t working out and all sorts of different stuff. Jon pitched me this Kraven movie, which actually was really cool. I don’t want to talk about it in case that movie ends up happening down the line, but it was fun."
While that particular adventure with the webhead doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, Kraven will be getting his own solo film starring Aaron Taylor Johnson.
Kraven the Hunter was initially set to premiere this October. However, over the summer, it was delayed to August 30, 2024.
Fans hoping to see the iconic villain cross paths with Spider-Man will have to wait even longer as it won't be happening for Kraven's debut outing.
What Might Have Kraven the Hunter Been Up to?
Kraven the Hunter is currently going through a resurgence in popularity. Not only is he the starring bad guy (alongside Venom) in Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2, but he’s even getting his own movie from Sony Pictures next year.
But what exactly would that third Spider-Man film have looked like with Kraven at the helm?
One idea would be for the story to have brought one of his infamous hunts for Spider-Man to life. What could have made that even more tantalizing is if Sony and Marvel Studios kept that Multiverse angle.
What if Kraven was jumping through the Multiverse, targeting and killing as many Spider-Men as possible? Then, audiences could still get both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.
Interestingly enough, the book does mention how Kraven can’t be used until he’s introduced in his movie. So could the character actually be brought into the MCU, perhaps even for Spider-Man 4?
Spider-Man: No Way Home can be purchased on digital platforms. Kraven the Hunter hits theaters on August 30, 2024. MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios is now available to purchase on Amazon.
