Is Kraven the Hunter Part of the MCU?

Kraven the Hunter is a film that involves an origin story of a Marvel character, so is it part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)?

While not much plot details have been revealed, we know that this R-rated film will give us a backstory of the Spider-Man villain. From the trailer, it appears that Kraven’s powers came from a drop of lion’s blood.

The trailer also shows some connections with Spider-Man. So, is Kraven the Hunter part of the MCU?

Is Kraven the Hunter in the MCU?

Credit: Sony Pictures

Kraven the Hunter is part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU), which means it takes place in the same universe as Tom Hardy’s Venom movies and Morbius. It will be the fourth film in the SSU.

The SSU is separate from the MCU, so there wouldn’t really be continuity issues about Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Sergei Kravinoff/Kraven the Hunter even though he already played an MCU character, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Wanda’s twin brother).

Another MCU actor who’s also in the film is Russell Crowe. He played Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, and he’ll be playing Kraven’s father, Nikolai Kravinoff.

However, even though Kraven the Hunter is not directly part of the MCU, connections between the MCU and the SSU through the multiverse were teased in previous films, namely Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Morbius.

But while there were some crossovers between the MCU and the SSU thanks to the multiverse, Kraven the Hunter is not an MCU film. So, it’s not directly part of the MCU, although the latter does have some connections with the SSU.

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Will Spider-Man Be in Kraven the Hunter?

Credit: Sony Pictures

Kraven the Hunter is a Spider-Man villain, so this raises questions as to whether Spider-Man will be in the movie, and if so, which version of the hero.

Spider-Man does not appear in the first trailer for Kraven the Hunter. However, the trailer does show some Spider-Man connections.

There’s a scene in the trailer where Kraven the Hunter is in a forest while spiders go down to him from their webs. And at the end of the trailer, we see Rhino, a Spider-Man villain.

So, even if Spider-Man does not appear in the movie, we could expect some Spider-Man references and hints about the hero’s future in the SSU.

However, it is worth noting that it remains uncertain as to which version of Spider-Man exists in the universe of Venom, Morbius, and Kraven the Hunter. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is clearly from a different world, as seen in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Additionally, Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man has a different version of Venom, while Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man has a different version of Rhino.

So, we have yet to see which version of Spider-Man is in the SSU, or if a new one would be introduced. Perhaps Kraven the Hunter and other upcoming films in the SSU (Madame Web and a third Venom film) would give us some ideas.

You can watch the trailer for Kraven the Hunter below:

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