Kraven the Hunter (2024) on Netflix
Sergei Kravinoff grows up under Nikolai, a crime lord who wants him for the family drug trade. A lion's attack in Ghana changes his body, and later mercenaries seize his half-brother Dmitri.
- Netflix1.8/5
- IMDb5.5/1087,409 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes15%
Trailer
Plot summary
When their mother dies, Sergei Kravinoff and his half-brother Dmitri go to live with their father Nikolai, a crime lord who intends them to take over his drug trafficking operations. On a hunting trip in Ghana, a lion mauls Sergei as he shields Dmitri; the animal carries him to a girl named Calypso, who treats him with a serum, and his body turns animalistic. Told that his father ordered the lion's killing as a lesson for his sons, Sergei leaves for his mother's animal sanctuary in Russia. Sixteen years on, he hunts criminals as Kraven. In London for Dmitri's birthday, he watches mercenaries seize his brother, and when Nikolai refuses a ransom, Kraven asks Calypso, now a lawyer, to help.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Kraven the Hunter (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Before Aaron Taylor-Johnson was cast as Kraven, Sony approached Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, John David Washington and Adam Driver for the role, and Lewis Pullman also auditioned. Executives moved quickly to cast Taylor-Johnson after being blown away by his early footage in Bullet Train (2022).
- After its projected financial failure, Kraven the Hunter was reported to be the final film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, ending any chance for a sequel or crossover.
- Ryan Coogler hoped to include Kraven in his MCU film Black Panther (2018), because of a fight between Black Panther and Kraven in Christopher Priest's comic book run. Marvel asked Sony for permission to use the character, and Sony declined.
- Kodi Smit-McPhee was offered the role of Chameleon, Kraven's half-brother, but declined over a scheduling conflict. Using Chameleon here also stopped writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers from making him the main villain of Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), so they chose Jean Grey instead.
- Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home, pitched Tom Holland a film pitting Peter Parker / Spider-Man against Kraven, but the idea was abandoned for the multiversal story of Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
- Aaron Taylor-Johnson confirmed the film would get an R rating from the Motion Picture Association, the first SSU film and the first Spider-Man related project overall to receive one.
