Ryan Coogler wanted Spider-Man villain Kraven the Hunter to feature in Black Panther.
The 39-year-old director revealed that when Michael B. Jordan’s Erik Killmonger and Andy Serkis’ Ulysses Klaue were confirmed to be the antagonists of his 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster, Coogler had also pitched the Spider-Man villain to be the big bad for Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa to face off with.
However, Coogler explained he had to drop Kraven the Hunter after Sony Pictures – who owns the movie rights to Spider-Man and his villains – rejected his pitch, as the studio had plans to produce their own spin-off flick about the character.
During an appearance on the Happy, Sad Confused podcast, Coogler said: “When I took that job, Joe Robert Cole, who’s my co-writer on both the Panthers, [he] had been working with Marvel and they had a line, so when I showed up, it was like, ‘Hey, we have our villains. Our villains are Klaue and Erik Killmonger.’ That had been decided upon.
“The outline of villains was Klaw and Kilmonger, but they weren’t sure. They weren’t sure. Klaue felt slightly modular to them, and obviously, it was the great Andy Serkis, so I’m hyped to work with him … I’m a big Spider-Man fan, especially Spider-Man: The Animated Series. Kraven is in that. He’s also great in the books.
“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.’”
Black Panther follows T’Challa (Boseman) as he returns home to Wakanda to claim the throne after his father’s death and step into his role as king.
When a powerful outsider (Jordan) challenges his rule, T’Challa must confront his nation’s past and decide what kind of leader – and hero – he will become.
Following the 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – which saw Letitia Wright’s Shuri take on the mantle from T’Challa after Boseman passed away from colon cancer in 2020 – Coogler confirmed he was working on the third instalment.
Speaking during the Sinners panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles, he teased: “If it was anybody but you, I would say, ‘I can neither confirm or deny’.
“But we’re working on it hard. So it’s next. Yes, it’s the next movie.”
Coogler also confirmed he was writing a role for Denzel Washington for the third Black Panther film.
Speaking on the 7pm in Brooklyn podcast, the director said: “Denzel is family at this point. I’ve been trying to work with him since day one.
“I think he’s the greatest living actor, and in terms of what he means to our culture, forget about it. I’ve been talking to him about this for a long time.”
