Sony’s ‘Kraven The Hunter’ Trailer Contains Spider Nod To ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt’ Comic Book

Credit to Gianfranco Autilia for pointing this out to us on Twitter!

Sony’s first official trailer for their Spider-Man Universe and Aaron Taylor-Johnson-led Kraven the Hunter spinoff gave fans more than expected ahead of its October 6 release.

One moment that will be the main focus of this article is the inclusion of a live-action nod to the classic comic book Kraven’s Last Hunt by J. M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck.

This is, of course, the moment where Johnson’s Kraven aka Sergei Kravinoff can be seen lying down with dozens of large dangling spiders webbing toward him.

However, Kraven-eating Spiders in the original comic adaptation had a completely different meaning that will most likely not be seen in the movie itself.

Kraven Trailer Spider Scene Explained

Firstly, as to why Johnson’s Kraven is surrounded by dangling spiders in the middle of a forest somewhere has not yet been officially revealed, so nothing is ruled out in all honestly. It’s just unlikely that it will be for the exact same reason as read in the comics.

Kraven is shown obtaining superhuman abilities in the official trailer for Kraven the Hunter, similar to but not identical to the comics. In the comics, Kraven obtained abilities by drinking periodic potions crafted by Haitian voodoo priestess Calypso.

Note: Calypso is also in the live-action Kraven the Hunter movie and will be played by Ariana DeBose, so it’s possible that some magic potion voodoo might still be at play.

In the original Kraven’s Last Hunt comic book, Kraven is convinced to literally eat and consume a large number of spiders in an attempt to become Spider-Man himself. He even later ends up defeating Spider-Man and wearing his costume to fight crime while in the suit but in a far more Kraven-like manner.

The story itself shows Kraven attempting to prove that he is better than Spider-Man which was originally released in 6 parts, later becoming a full paperback graphic novel. Kraven feels that the only way to be better than Spider-Man is to both defeat him and to literally become him, however, the movie doesn’t seem to be going that route.

The spider scene definitely seems to be a nod to the classic Mike Zeck illustrations as seen in J. M. DeMatteis’ Kraven’s Last Hunt. Sony’s synopsis for the movie does officially state that this will be pre-Kraven having beef with Spider-Man. It may just be an extremely short scene to allude to Johnson’s Kraven one day going toe to toe with a Spider-Man of sorts. Which Spider-Man, however, is currently unclear.

Sony’s Kraven the Hunter releases in theatres on October 6, 2023.