Marvel Studios and Sony have always had a complicated relationship. Before Marvel Studios officially launched, Marvel was in need of cash and sold the rights to various characters off to studios such as Sony and 20th Century Fox.
Among the characters Marvel sold the film rights to was Spider-Man, and his catalog of supporting characters. When Marvel launched its own theatrical slate under the Marvel Studios banner, they were able to bring several of Marvel Comics’ biggest characters into the interconnected universe that would become the Marvel Cinematic Universe; however, Spider-Man and his catalog of villains and allies were kept off limits.
That was until 2015 when Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures struck a landmark agreement which paved the way for Spider-Man to appear within the MCU. Spider-Man made his official debut in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War before leading his own solo film set within the MCU with the release of 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. This was just the beginning of what would become a years-long partnership between the two studios which has led to the highest-grossing spider-Man films in the character’s history.
Sony would not allow Kraven the Hunter to be in Black Panther
When Ryan Coogler came on board to direct Black Panther, marvel Studios brass had landed on Erik Killmonger and Ulysses Klaue serving as the film’s core villains.However, Coogler had his sights set on using one of his favorite spider-Man villains: Kraven the Hunter.
At one point during the development process, the studio reportedly approached Sony Pictures about the possibility of using Kraven in Black Panther. However, Sony declined the request, as they had plans to use the character in their own Spider-Man universe.
This ultimately led to Killmonger and Klaue remaining as the primary antagonists in Black Panther, which proved to be a triumphant decision, as both characters were well-received by audiences and critics alike. However, it’s interesting to imagine how the film might have been different with Kraven the Hunter involved.
Ryan Coogler Wanted Kraven the Hunter in Black Panther – But Sony Said No
Ryan Coogler initially envisioned Kraven the Hunter as a potential adversary in Black Panther, even considering him as a replacement for Ulysses Klaue. However, Sony Pictures quickly shut down the idea.
Coogler, a self-proclaimed Spider-Man fan – particularly of Spider-Man: The Animated Series where Kraven appears – expressed his desire to include the character. “I’m a big Spider-Man fan, especially Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Kraven is in that.He’s also great in the books,” Coogler revealed. “I was like, ‘Yo, can I have Kraven in the movie?’ They were like, ‘We don’t think so, but let us check.’ So, they hit Sony, and Sony was like, ‘Absolutely not.’ They came back to me like, ‘Yo, we can’t do it.’ So, I was like, ‘Okay.'”
This request occurred after Marvel and Sony had already begun collaborating to integrate Spider-Man into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite this existing partnership,Sony declined to allow kraven to be used in Black Panther,as they reportedly had their own development plans for the character.
Black Panther could have helped make Kraven the Hunter a box office success
Kraven the Hunter was one of several Spider-Man characters Sony believed could lead their own franchise, and this was likely the key cause of Sony’s refusal to allow Marvel studios to feature him in Black Panther. Ironically, had they played ball and allowed Marvel to use the character in the Oscar-nominated film, there is a very good chance that it would have actually helped to make the character into a box office success story.
Kraven the Hunter was one of several Spider-Man characters Sony believed could lead their own franchise, and this was likely the key cause of Sony’s refusal to allow Marvel Studios to feature him in Black Panther. Ironically, had they played ball and allowed Marvel to use the character in the Oscar-nominated film, there is a very good chance that it would have actually helped to make the character into a box office success story.
Worth a look