Ryan Coolger’s Kraven The Hunter Black Panther Villain Concept Stopped By Sony

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Marvel Studios’ 2018 hit almost featured a completely different villain.

I was listening to Ryan Coogler on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, and he revealed something really interesting! He originally wanted Kraven the Hunter to be one of the villains in Black Panther. Apparently, Sony wasn’t on board with that idea. He said they weren’t quite sure it fit, but they did love Andy Serkis, so that was cool. He explained he was really inspired by Christopher Priest’s Black Panther comic run, which actually starts with a fight between Black Panther, Ross, and Kraven… right in the kitchen! It would have been an amazing opening, honestly.

The director told him that the villains for Black Panther had already been chosen. Ryan Coogler explained, “Actually, when I started, my co-writer, Joe Robert Cole, had already been working with Marvel. They had a plan in place, so when I joined the project, I was told, ‘We’ve already decided on our villains: Klaw and Erik Killmonger.’ It was already set.”

Why Kraven The Hunter Wasn’t In Black Panther

Director Ryan Coogler wanted to include Kraven the Hunter in Black Panther, as he’s a fan of the character from Spider-Man: The Animated Series and the comics. However, it wasn’t possible due to licensing issues and the rights to the character. Coogler asked if Kraven could be included, and after checking with Sony – which owns the rights to Spider-Man characters – he received a firm ‘no.’

So, Sony gave Kraven the Hunter his own movie in 2024, but honestly, it didn’t really land. Aaron Taylor-Johnson did his best, but the reviews were pretty rough. Looking back, I kinda think Sony missed a trick by not letting Ryan Coogler take a crack at it – their version just felt…forgettable.

Black Panther is now streaming on Disney+.

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2025-12-29 18:37