Sony has dropped the official trailer for their upcoming Spider-Man Universe spinoff Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular character.
Its stinger includes a quick shot of Alessandro Nivola as none other than Marvel’s Rhino, the iconic Spider-Man villain seen many times in past adaptations.
However, this one won’t be donning a Rhino suit of any kind, this time around he will be similar to villains such as the Lizard and be going full cross-species.
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You get to see a quick glimpse of Nivolas’ Aleksei Sytsevich using some sort of device that quickly changes him into a literal Human-Rhino hybrid.
The tease only shows off a quick second or two of just his arm going through the transition but it’s instantly clear as to what’s happening to his overall body.
Was His Rhino The Rhino In No Way Home?
One question that the new Rhino seen in Kraven the Hunter raises is if this is the Rhino we get to somewhat see during the final moments of Spider-Man: No Way Home.
When Doctor Strange is sealing multiversal cracks in the skies of New York City, a silhouette of Rhino can briefly be seen along with another of Kraven himself.
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Could this be Nivola’s Rhino and Johnson’s Kraven as previously theorised by Spidey fans online since the title’s release?
It’s extremely possible now as Sony is set to introduce both characters later this year in October, making it canon to the Tom Holland-connected Spider-Verse
Is No Way Home’s Kraven Johnson’s Future Version?
The Kraven silhouette seen in Spider-Man: No Way Home isn’t too far off from Johnson’s look in the 2023 Kraven the Hunter movie.
At least during a short snippet of the trailer where Johnson is shown donning the iconic Kraven look as seen in many adaptations from Marvel comics to various games.
No Way Home‘s Kraven, however, seems to look a bit older than Johnson’s version but it could easily be passed off as a future and older version.
Sony’s Kraven the Hunter has already been confirmed to tell the tale of how Kraven came to be, so an origin story starting from his teenage years.
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It has also been confirmed that this will be a Kraven that has yet to cross paths with Spider-Man as stated in a recent press release from Sony.
Will Johnson’s Kraven Fight Holland’s Spider-Man?
This is a question that has probably been asked by every single Tom Holland Spider-Man fan since Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter was announced by Sony.
Since the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, and as long as the live-action Spider-Verse continues to further be explored, a Kraven vs. Spider-Man is possible.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man has already fought multiple villains from the Sony Spider-Man Universe such as Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, plus the Lizard and Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman.
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Seeing that Sony is still working hard on expanding their ever-growing Spider-Man Universe with animated projects such as Across the Spider-Verse to Kraven.
It’s safe to assume that they have plenty of plans for Holland’s Spider-Man to further interact with their Marvel characters, not to mention the fact that Tom Hardy’s Venom still has a piece of his symbiote in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
One thing’s for sure if you’re a Spidey fan and you thought it was all done and dusted with No Way Home, you’re in for a fair few surprises throughout the next few years.
However, Sony has yet to officially announce their full plan for all their upcoming Spider-Man Universe projects and if they will all eventually tie together or not.
Kraven the Hunter releases in theatres on October 6, 2023.
