The Spider-Man references in the Kraven the Hunter trailer

The trailer for Kraven the Hunter came as a surprise yesterday after being leaked a few hours earlier than expected. The first trailer for the Spider-Man spin-off film, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the titular hero, is full of violence and gore, a bit more than we’ve seen from this Sony Pictures franchise.

We know that these spin-offs (like the previous Venom and Morbius movies) take place in a universe separate from the MCU, and much of the friendly neighbor’s presence has remained an Easter egg or reference, leaving Spider-Man out of the equation. So today, we’re going to examine this trailer to see what references to the arachnid hero we can find in this first look.

And if you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the trailer for Kraven the Hunter:

Is that a radioactive lion?

While in the comics Kraven’s powers come after he consumes a mystical serum that gives him enhanced strength and dramatically slows the aging process, in the trailer it looks like he gets his powers from the blood of a lion. Unless that’s a special lion, we’re pretty sure that’s not how it’s supposed to work.

Kraven the Hunter and the Spiders

Not sure if this is an Easter egg, but is this Sony’s not-so-subtle way of reminding us that this is a Spider-Man spin-off? The design of the spider looks very close to the Spider-Man symbol on his chest, so let’s consider it.

A special kind of Rhino

In the final moments of the trailer, we get a glimpse of another transformation. As many had speculated, Alexsei Sytsevich appears as Rhino, or at least in his origin, albeit with a slight twist to the source material. In the comics, he is a member of the Russian mafia who underwent a series of chemical and radiation treatments that gave him artificial skin that would give him superhuman strength.

Who is The Foreigner?

In those blink-and-you-miss-it moments, we get a look at the Foreigner, another Spider-Man villain who is a mercenary and assassin.

That’s a nice costume

We won’t deny it, but seeing Kraven in his classic comic book costume (or, well, a more realistic version of it) is a great tribute to the original design, so we have another element that resembles the source material.

Kraven The Hunter will be released on October 6, 2023.