Tom Holland Reveals Spider-Man: No Way Home Originally Centered Around One Fan-Favorite Villain
Tom Holland was originally supposed to fight a completely different villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home. But those plans completely changed
Tom Holland has revealed that Kraven The Hunter was going to make his big-screen debut in Spider-Man: No Way Home – until the multiverse happened. The highly anticipated film has already confirmed the appearance of various villains from previous Spider-Man projects. These include Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, Jamie Foxx’s Electro, Rhys Ifan’s Lizard, and Thomas Haden Church as Sandman.
During an interview with Collider, Tom Holland and Zendaya said they had known about Marvel’s multiverse plans for a few years. However, there were times when those massive plans seemed to be falling apart within the studio. Fortunately, Jon Watts had a backup plan for the third Spider-Man movie – Kraven The Hunter.
“For a long time, there was going to be a Kraven movie that was going to be the third movie because things weren’t working out and all sorts of different stuff,” Tom Holland explained. “Jon pitched me this Kraven movie, which was really cool. I don’t want to talk about it in case that movie ends up happening down the line, but it was fun.”
Kraven the Hunter is typically portrayed as a master tracker and big game hunter who becomes obsessed with capturing Spider-Man to prove his worth. He possesses a great sense of honor and treats his adversaries as equals. As such, Kraven is often depicted as an antihero and sometimes an ally of Spider-Man, who he came to respect deeply over time.
While Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man movie is going in a different creative direction, it’s not all bad news for Kraven fans. The supervillain will still be making his big-screen debut in a Kraven The Hunter spin-off movie. Aaron Taylor Johnson has been tapped to star as Kraven The Hunter. The project will be directed by J.C. Chandor from a script by Art Marcum, Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk. The movie is currently set for release in January 2023.
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Kraven The Hunter made his Marvel comics debut in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man #15. He quickly became one of Spider-Man’s most formidable foes and is part of the group that makes up Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery. He is also one of the founding members of the Sinister Six (some of whom will be featured in the Tom Holland movie).
As for Spider-Man: No Way Home, there is more than enough going on here. In addition to the array of super villains, rumors also suggest that Doctor Strange is the conduit to bringing Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire’s versions of Spider-Man into Tom Holland’s universe by way of the multiverse. Previous reports state that these characters will appear during the final scene to help defeat all the Spider-Men’s combined foes.
The story essentially examines how Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) life and reputation are turned upside down following his identity being exposed at the hands of Mysterio. Interestingly, this is something that’s already happened in the comic book lore. In 2007 Marvel released One More Day, a four-part comic book crossover storyline, connecting the three main Spider-Men series published at the time. In this version, Peter’s attempt to restore his secret identity culminates in him making a deal with Mephisto.
Written by J. Michael Straczynski and Joe Quesada, the story arc concludes the fallout of Spider-Man’s actions during the 2007 Civil War crossover. One More Day starts in The Amazing Spider-Man #544, continues in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #24 and The Sensational Spider-Man (vol. 2) #41, and concludes in The Amazing Spider-Man #545.
It won’t be long until fans can catch Tom Holland in Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film will be his third solo appearance as the famed Marvel superhero. Directed by Jon Watts, the film also stars Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. Spider-Man: No Way Home starring Tom Holland will be released worldwide on December 17, 2021.
