Overview
- Coogler said he asked Marvel to secure Kraven the Hunter for Black Panther and was told Sony replied, “Absolutely not.”
- Marvel’s initial outline already listed Ulysses Klaue and Erik Killmonger as the antagonists, with Klaue considered a flexible piece of the plan.
- Coogler noted his pitch drew from Christopher Priest’s Black Panther run, which opens with a Panther–Kraven confrontation.
- He clarified that Michael B. Jordan was always intended to play Killmonger, dispelling rumors he was eyed for Kraven.
- Sony later released an R-rated Kraven film in 2024 starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson that underperformed, and the character remains unused in the MCU.