'Kraven The Hunter' Movie Will Include Spider-Man, Maybe

Sony may intend to launch their Spider-Man cinematic universe without the help of Spider-Man, but that won't stop the screenwriter of the upcoming Kraven the Hunter movie from dreaming big. Screenwriter Richard Wenk claims that the solo film of frequent Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter will feature an appearance from the friendly neighborhood superhero himself. Whether that will actually come to pass is another story.

Even though Venom, which follows the origin of one of Spider-Man's most popular nemeses, couldn't swing an appearance from the webslinger, maybe Kraven the Hunter...could? That is, according to screenwriter Richard Wenk, who in an interview with Discussing Film, claims that the film's protagonist Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kraven the Hunter, will "come face-to-face with Spider-Man."

The writer, who admits that the story is still in early stages, recently confirmed details about the film, which he claims will include a direct encounter with Spider-Man and be influenced by the character's classic storyline "Kraven's Last Hunt":

"I'm just starting it. It's an interesting world. A great character. It's going to adhere very closely to the lore of Kraven the Hunter. And he is going to come face to face with Spider-Man. I'm just beginning it, beginning the process, and because it's a big IP, Marvel world, there's lots of hurdles to overcome before you can start writing, to crack the right story and to get the right tone. It's a new world for me. But what's nice about it is it's a very grounded character, he doesn't have a lot of crazy superpowers and things like that so he's more grounded and that fits what I like to do. That's as much as I know."

The fact that Venom, whose comic book origin is inextricably tied to Spider-Man, didn't feature an appearance from the webslinger but Kraven the Hunter could, would be hilarious. Wenk's claim also raises a few eyebrows since unlike Venom, Spider-Man had little to do with Kraven's origin — Sergei transforms into Kraven long before he meets the web crawler in New York. But once he does meet Spider-Man, he naturally becomes obsessed with the hero.

But the storyline that Wenk plans to tackle, the fan-favorite arc "Kraven's Last Hunt," does feature Spider-Man prominently. In the comic book arc, Sergei finally defeats Spider-Man and puts on the hero's suit to prove his superiority.

Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but if Venom couldn't land a Spider-Man cameo after reportedly lowering its rating with the hopes of a webslinger cameo, then I doubt that non-household name Kraven the Hunter could succeed. But hey, I thought that they would never actually make a successful Venom movie, and I was proven doubly wrong. Maybe Kraven the Hunter will be the movie that brings Spider-Man back to Sony.

Kraven the Hunter, which was announced this summer, does not yet have a director or release date.