Kraven The Hunter has LONG been one of Spider-Man’s greatest foe’s. Considering that means he’s a Sony property at the moment being a Spider-Man villain comes with it’s own set of problems. Previous Sony “Spider” properties aside I was thoroughly impressed with the first trailer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson fits the role with apparent ease. This second trailer, which was just released, has only stood to reaffirm my hopes of this being, at a minimum, a completely enjoyable action film. They key to that is the distance they are putting between themselves and the ole’ web head. Outside of the villain appearing to be a version of Rhino, there’s not a hint to the red and blue one anywhere. This is all the more impressive when you consider Kraven featured heavily in the latest Spider-Man video game, Spider-Man 2.
While it must have been hard not to lean into that known entity for a little recognition, they really had no reason to. The story they’re planning to tell stands on its own and it allows them to introduce Kraven as a good guy, or at least an anti-hero. This allows them one of two paths….either continue on a spider-less Kraven franchise, which could be amazing if you pit him against poacher groups in Africa. The other, more enticing path, is to show the full path of him going from hero to villain, to one of Spidey’s greatest threats. We’ve seen this on a smaller scale with Doc Ock, but to have a full multi film arc that ends with your main character becoming the villain. Well that’s something we haven’t seen outside of the Star Wars prequels.
The trailer itself promises intense action and plenty of blood for those of us searching for depictions of ravenous violence. On top of that both Aaron Taylor-Johnson (who displays some James Bond swagger) and Russell Crowe appear to be bringing the sum of their talents to bear, guaranteeing performances rare amongst the superhero genre.
Check it out below and look for Kraven The Hunter in theaters this December
Official Synopsis:
Kraven the Hunter is the visceral, action-packed origin story of how and why one of Marvel’s most iconic villains came to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays Kraven, a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.
