The next Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland is among the MCU’s most highly-anticipated films, and understandably so. After all, Holland’s run as Spidey has enjoyed an overwhelmingly positive reaction from critics and fans alike. But a movie’s defining trait isn’t just its hero, as a great villain is vital to the momentum of the story, too. We’ve already met Vulture (Michael Keaton) and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal), and the smart money is on Kraven the Hunter being cast as the next antagonist to torment Peter Parker.
The cliffhanger ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home marked the web-slinger as the villain behind the London attacks and spilled his secret identity to the public. And then J. Jonah Jameson stepped in to incite the mob. So the story of Spider-Man 3 could possibly build a plot in which Kraven arrives to hunt down the menace that is Spider-Man on the city’s behalf. This would put the web-head on the run while fending off the government, the media and the Hunter in an attempt to clear his name.
Kraven’s inclusion in the MCU right about now would also line up with his solo movie, which Sony had announced back in 2018. If Marvel and Sony play nice, both films could have various crossover elements, with Kraven jumping straight into Spider-Man 3. And in turn, Sony could produce the origin story of how Sergei Kravinoff became the legendary big game hunter.
As for casting, some fans would love to see DC’s Aquaman, Jason Momoa, head over to the MCU as Kraven. And for anyone who’d like to picture what that would look like, concept artist Jackson Caspersz has already posted the result on his Instagram page.
The appearance of Kraven is by no means confirmed, and even Spider-Man 3’s title is a topic of conjecture for now. But he would definitely make a formidable opponent for the wall-crawler, especially in terms of raw power and fighting prowess. So far in his solo movies, Spider-Man has faced enemies who’ve used mind games and technology to take him on, but hopefully we’ll get a true contest of strength and skill in the threequel.