Marvel Almost Turned Kraven the Hunter Into the MCU’s Next Big Villain, and the Plan Was Wild

Few Spider-Man villains have had a stranger journey to the big screen than Kraven the Hunter. Sony eventually gave the character his own solo movie, but it bombed at the box office in late 2024 and effectively killed the studio’s plans for more villain-centered spin-offs. It was a rough ending for a character fans had wanted to see for years.

Part of the frustration comes from how the rights work. Sony controls Spider-Man and his catalog of villains and allies, and Tom Holland’s Spidey appears in the MCU only because of a deal between Sony and Disney. Any decision involving those characters needs Sony’s approval, which has left Marvel Studios repeatedly blocked from using them.

Now a new behind-the-scenes revelation is showing just how close Kraven came to a very different MCU debut. ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ writer Chris McKenna revealed Kraven the Hunter was originally considered for the movie. The plan would have turned New York into a “Home Alone” trap for Spider-Man, with booby traps set across the city.

McKenna laid out the idea on The Bulwark’s podcast, and other outlets quickly picked it up. He described a laconic Kraven turning the city into a death trap while hunting down Peter Parker. As McKenna explained to The Bulwark, “He could even be a tertiary villain.”

Marvel Studios was considering making Kraven The Hunter the villain of 3 different #MCU films, but couldn’t due to Sony. • ‘Black Panther’ • ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ • ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ https://t.co/muXBAHUWrz

— Cosmic Marvel (@cosmic_marvel) September 20, 2026

The idea was that Kraven would not necessarily be the centerpiece villain. He could have been hired by someone, or simply been a figure stalking Peter for the entire movie. It is an intriguing take, especially compared with how conventional most Spider-Man villain hunts tend to feel.

McKenna and co-writer Erik Sommers had first wanted to use Spot in ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’, only to learn the character was being used in ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’. Kraven became their fallback, especially since they had been told that Sony was never going to make a standalone Kraven movie. Then Sony made ‘Kraven the Hunter’ anyway, which took that option off the table.

Chameleon was also unavailable, as his half-brother Sergei appears in ‘Kraven the Hunter’. The writers ultimately settled on Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey as the central antagonist of ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’. The film went through several other villain concepts along the way, including Shadow King.

The same restriction appears to have affected another Marvel Studios hit. Cosmic Marvel’s post lists 3 films where Kraven was considered as a villain: ‘Black Panther’, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’. Director Ryan Coogler said on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he wanted Kraven in ‘Black Panther’, drawing on the Christopher Priest run of the comics, but Sony refused.

A Brand New Day starts now.

Watch the official trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day – exclusively in theatres July 31. pic.twitter.com/O4ryqpTCZX

— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) March 18, 2026

Marvel had reportedly settled on Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue as the villains, though Coogler said there were some doubts about Klaue at the time. Sony wanted to keep Kraven for its own project, which ended up as a critical and commercial disappointment. The film grossed $62 million worldwide.

Reaction online has been lively. One user asked how you could possibly stretch that plot over 2 hours, while another argued the ‘Home Alone’ Kraven idea would have been much more fun than what audiences actually got. Both reactions capture the appeal and the risk of an idea that sounds thrilling in a pitch.

For now, this remains a fascinating what-if rather than a roadmap. With Sony’s Kraven movie having flopped, the character’s future in the MCU remains uncertain. But McKenna’s comments make it clear that Marvel Studios had big plans for the hunter.

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