Sony's Sony's ambitions for the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters extend far beyond this, though, as several other Spider-Man adjacent characters have movies in development.
Kraven the Hunter is one of the many Spider-Man villains that Sony has spent time working to build a solo movie around. This came after heavy rumors that Kraven would be the villain in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Sony made progress on the Kraven solo movie when they hired Triple Frontier's J.C. Chandor to direct the standalone movie in late 2020. This left many to continue to fan-cast who could play the deadly Spider-Man foe tied to several classic Spidey comic stories, with casting calls reportedly showing Sony's interest in a "Joel Kinnaman type."
Sony announced today that Aaron Taylor-Johnson will star as Kraven the Hunter. This is not his first time playing a comic book character or one from the Marvel universe. Aaron Taylor-Johnson previously played Kick-Ass in two movies based on the Mark Millar comic. He more recently played Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, in Avengers: Age of Ultron. Now, he'll take a villainous turn to play the big game hunter Sergei Kravinoff. Taylor-Johnson also signed a multi-film contract to play the character. Kraven the Hunter is scheduled to release in theaters on January 13, 2023.
This the latest high-profile movie that Aaron Taylor-Johnson will star in and comes after Sony reportedly approached Keanu Reeves for the role. In addition to his work in prior comic book movies, Taylor-Johnson played the lead in 2014's Godzilla, had a ing role in Christopher Nolan's Tenet, and is set to appear in David Leitch and Brad Pitt's action movie Bullet Train next. He should have the next several months to prepare for Kraven the Hunter's production, as it likely won't start filming until late 2021 or early 2022.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson is an exciting choice to play Kraven in the movie, but it does raise some serious questions about the SPUMC. Kraven the Hunter's writer previously said that the film is an adaptation of the famous storyline "Kraven's Last Hunt" and could feature Spider-Man. Some fans hoped this meant Tom Holland's Peter Parker could appear, especially after the rumors that Kraven would be in Spider-Man 3. There are no signs that Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Kraven are involved with Spider-Man: No Way Home, but Sony could use the movie to tease Kraven the Hunter's story through the multiverse. If they take advantage of that situation, fans could see Aaron Taylor-Johnson play Kraven much earlier than 2023.
Source: Sony
