Kraven The Hunter"s Rhino Design Is A Massive Upgrade From The Amazing Spider-Man 2 And I"m Disappointed It Was Wasted

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Kraven the Hunter has finally arrived in theaters, and the Marvel Universe film has finally introduced an exciting version of the Rhino, and now I"m worried this might be all we will ever get. The ending of Kraven sets up a future for some of the characters, although it remains to be seen if they will ever be followed up on. Sony has recently confirmed that they have no plans for further Spider-Man spinoff films, suggesting that Kraven the Hunter will actually be the last we see of these characters, including Rhino.
With the death of $2 billion franchise, Sony is moving on to other things. They clearly have plans for other projects, including their MCU Spider-Man 4 and the Nicolas Cage-starring Spider-Man Noir series on Prime Video. However, the abandoning of their established universe from these past years has left a number of questions, including about Knull"s future. Following this line of thinking, I can"t help but feel disappointed that this may be the last that any of us will see of this new version of Rhino.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Had An Awful Adaptation Of Rhino Paul Giamatti Played The Villain In Sony's Expanding Universe Close Rhino has made one previous appearance in live-action, with Paul Giamatti playing Rhino as an obsessed madman in a giant metal suit. While the design of the mech that Giamatti drives is certainly an unusual choice, and while the actor"s mad performance does not align with most of the comic book lore, he promised to be an interesting and unique iteration. I was excited to see what the film planned to do with Rhino after seeing him teased in the trailer, and was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Instead, the film did virtually nothing with Rhino. Even the shots that were shown in the trailer, of Spider-Man and Rhino fighting, were almost the entirety of his appearance in the film. Worse, the dull fight between the two characters was actually the final moment of the feature, revealing as I watched that the film"s ending had been shown in its advance marketing. With a series of odd and poor choices, Giamatti"s Rhino became perhaps the worst villain introduced in either Amazing Spider-Man film.
Kraven The Hunter's Rhino Design Is Actually Good The Villain Actually Resembles His Comic Book Counterpart Close With Kraven"s negative reviews, it is clear that much of the film did not work for many critics and audiences. With that said, there was a lot of what the film did with Alessandro Nivola"s Rhino that was actually effective. The transformation from human into a rhino is at least visually an exciting and intense version of the character"s lore, and the film actually used some practical effects to make his design occur. While the explanation behind his powers was not the strongest, the actual visuals were sometimes quite effective.
Most importantly, Aleksei Sytsevich actually becomes a Rhino in the film, in a transformation that genuinely looks accurate to the comic book lore. Seeing the combat that occurred between him and Kraven in the following scenes was effective, and the character"s contribution to the story was satisfying. Much of this came from the design itself, which felt faithful while taking a few unique spins. This led to an adaptation of the comic book villain that felt true to the spirit, and I thought was mostly satisfying. Unfortunately, this film was not the right place for Rhino.
I'm Disappointed The Best Rhino Adaptation Is Wasted In Kraven The Hunter Kraven The Hunter Has Been A Disappointment To Most Viewers Close I"d argue that Kraven the Hunter is another weak entry in Sony"s Universe. There is much in the film to enjoy, including fun realizations of familiar comic characters and great Kraven easter eggs, but overall the film did not entirely live up to its promise. With this in mind, Rhino was not given enough screen time in the film and was even killed off before the end. As a result, it seems unlikely that, even if a Kraven sequel were to happen, Rhino would be given another chance to recur in the universe.
All of this feels like such a disappointing waste. J.C. Chandor has made some excellent films, and I"d argue that some of the pieces of Sony"s Universe established in films like Morbius actually have some vitality that could be better explored further. I want to see Morbius and his involvement with characters like Chameleon and Rhino, and it"s such a disappointment that this film will be all that we will get. This live-action version of Rhino may have been the best so far, but that is a low bar; not nearly enough has been done with the iconic character.
Will A Marvel Movie Ever Get Rhino Right? The Villain Could Be An Important Spider-Man Foe Close Rhino is a weird and somewhat silly villain. The character debuted in 1966 as a Russian thug who underwent an experimental procedure that gave him new skin and incredible strength. Dim-witted, the brute used these powers for destruction, facing off against Spider-Man repeatedly through the years. With powers and intelligence that are not unusual in the Marvel Universe, only his Rhino appearance sets the character apart as something special or unique. With that said, other characters have received creative reinventions in the movies, and Rhino should as well.
Figures like Lizard were adapted faithfully, and it worked to tell complex character stories. Others, like Vulture, were tweaked and changed significantly to be more effective in their films. I believe someone like Rhino could be effectively reinvented for something like an MCU appearance, and that this could be incredibly satisfying. There are, after all, still good books and stories to draw from, including "Flowers for Rhino". The Rhino could be made into something even more satisfying than he has been so far.

Related Kraven The Hunter Soundtrack: Every Song In The Marvel Movie Fred Hechinger’s Dmitri Smerdyakov, AKA the Chameleon, sings a number of popular songs from various decades over the course of Kraven the Hunter.
Posts I hope we get to see more of Rhino in the future, although I have to admit that it seems unlikely that this version will return again. A Kraven sequel will probably not happen and, even if it did, this version of the villain has died. However, the comic book lore of Rhino still persists, and there is reason to hope that he may be included in other future Marvel Projects. Whatever happens in the aftermath of Kraven the Hunter, I dearly hope that this is not the last that we ever see of these Spider-Man characters again.

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17 6.9/10 Kraven the Hunter R Kraven the Hunter explores the origin story of Sergei Kravinoff, known as Kraven, as he navigates his tumultuous relationship with his father, Nikolai. This path of vengeance sets Kraven on a journey to become a formidable hunter with a reputation for fearsome brutality.
Release Date December 13, 2024 Cast Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Russell Crowe , Fred Hechinger , Ariana DeBose , Christopher Abbott , Alessandro Nivola , Levi Miller , Chi Lewis-Parry , Billy Barratt , Jessica Zhou , Michael Shaeffer , Dritan Kastrati , Greg Kolpakchi , Elander Moore , Filiz Fairweather , Duran Fulton Brown , Alex Skarbek , Rachel Handshaw , Preslav Shipkaliev , Murat Seven , Robert Ryan Expand Upcoming MCU Movies

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