Aaron Taylor-Johnson is playing “Spider-Man” villain “Kraven the Hunter” in an epic origin story hailing from Marvel and Sony.
Taylor-Johnson leads the long-awaited “Kraven” standalone film as the titular character. The logline reads: “Kraven (Taylor-Johnson) is a man whose complex relationship with his ruthless father, Nikolai Kravinoff (Russell Crowe), starts him down a path of vengeance with brutal consequences, motivating him to become not only the greatest hunter in the world, but also one of its most feared.”
The “Thor” alum Crowe (he played Zeus) has made his thoughts on superhero franchises known, but that didn’t stop him from doing “Kraven the Hunter.” The feature continues the Sony-Marvel partnership after “Madame Web,” which was also set in the “Spider-Man”-universe as a prequel film. Additional spinoffs include “Venom” and “Morbius.”
“Kraven the Hunter” co-stars Ariana DeBose, Alessandro Nivola, Fred Hechinger, and Christopher Abbott, who is also playing another storied villain in Universal’s January release “Wolfman.”
“Kraven the Hunter” is directed by J.C. Chandor from a story by Richard Wenk, who penned the script along with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. It is produced by Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and David Householter.
Taylor-Johnson previously said during CinemaCon 2023 that the film was going to be rated R, which is Sony’s first-ever R-rated Marvel movie. (“Deadpool” is straight Disney Marvel.) “Kraven the Hunter” was originally set to be released October 6, 2023 prior to “Madame Web.”
Taylor-Johnson already made his Marvel debut with “Avengers: Age of Ultron” as Quicksilver.
“I mean, quite honestly, I thought I’d actually been done with these sorts of movies,” he said in an Esquire cover story. “You’re just constantly trying to fine-tune what is right for you, and fuck what everyone else thinks and the judgment outside.”
Taylor-Johnson further told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022 that “Kraven the Hunter” is a different kind of Marvel film, in part due to it being shot entirely on location which is “going to make all the difference.”
“It’s going to add something really beautiful to our personal story,” Taylor-Johnson said. “It also sets ‘Kraven’ apart from that Marvel stage look. It’s important for this character to be in the real world. It’s important for the authenticity of the story. When you’re running on streets barefoot, you take in those elements and play within that.”
He is next appearing in “Nosferatu” and is rumored to be in the running to play James Bond.
“Kraven the Hunter” premieres in theaters December 13. Check out the trailer below.
