The first Kraven the Hunter trailer was released last June and following another handful of release date delays, the movie is finally playing worldwide.
The teaser received the expected mixed response, with the biggest talking point being a last-minute Rhino tease and Sergei Kravinoff's new origin story.
In the comics, Kraven is a big-game hunter who, having conquered every animal, targets the vigilante Spider-Man. He'd later ingest potions made from various unnamed jungle herbs, granting himself superhuman abilities that made him an even greater threat to the web-slinger.
Back to that trailer, and it showed the young Kraven pointing his gun at a lion that mauled him when he hesitated to pull the trigger. The beast stands over him and blood from the lion drips into one of the teenager's wounds, seemingly giving Sergei supernatural powers.
The response to that was largely negative and, given time to tweak Kraven the Hunter, Sony has scrapped all that in the theatrical cut.
Sergei and his brother Dmitri still join their father to hunt the legendary "Tsar" lion because, according to legend, whoever kills the unkillable beast will become a legend themselves. Kraven is attacked but this time saved by a young Calypso who revives him with a mysterious elixir given to her by her grandmother (she told her it would one day be used to resurrect a great warrior).
Kraven comes back from the dead with superhuman powers and the idea that the lion is in any way tied to his abilities is completely absent from the movie. He later uses his powers to become a criminal-hunting assassin, eventually working his way up to his own father.
In retaliation, Nikolai sends The Rhino after his son in the hope that one will kill the other...either way, he eliminates a major threat. You can read more on what happens from there in our "Ending Explained" article.
While Kraven the Hunter moves away from that supernatural link to the lion, there are moments in the movie where it's strongly hinted that he can communicate with or control animals. That includes the bear he leaves to maul his dear old dad to death and a stampeding herd surrounding his fight with The Rhino. It's likely this subplot was once a much bigger part of the story.
During the final scene, Kraven finds the Tsar lion's corps has vanished from his father's home. It turns out his dad had it turned into a vest and leaves his son a note, warning that he can't escape his fate and will end up being a deadly hunter just like him.
And yes, this means those action shots from the trailers featuring Kraven in the vest are also M.I.A; instead, he just dons it to strike an iconic pose before the credits roll.
Kraven the Hunter is now playing in theaters.