Aaron Taylor-Johnson Officially Cast As Spider-Man’s Next Big Villain
We've yet to see this iconic villain of Spider-Man's brought to the big screen, but Aaron Taylor-Johnson is about to change that.
This article is more than 2 years old
We’ve known for months that Sony is making a Marvel film called Kraven the Hunter. As an antihero with a long history in the Marvel comics, fans have been eager to see who will play the main role. Many fans had pictured Keanu Reeves in the part. Rumors spread for months, insisting that he would be the perfect actor. It got to the point that when you search for Kraven, you see Keanu’s face. Others rooted for Karl Urban to take on the role. But now, Deadline is reporting that Aaron Taylor-Johnson is officially our Kraven.
When Kraven the Hunter was first introduced in 1964, it was as Spider-Man’s nemesis. The character is Russian and is also known as Sergei Kravinoff. Over the years he’s also fought Black Panther and other iconic characters, but Kraven and Spider-Man will always be linked. Kraven is considered to be formidable. He often plays the villain in a story but is technically an antihero. The character has a sense of nobility in his hunting. He has a sense of honor and respects his adversaries. In fact, there are stories in the comics where sometimes Kraven the Hunter teams up with Spider-Man to take on someone else. He respects Spider-Man because of all the times Peter Parker has bested Kraven. Still, their relationship is definitely violent.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson has landed a key role for Marvel with Kraven the Hunter. It’s been assumed that at some point, Marvel will be telling a lot more story with the Sinister Six. This supervillain team got started in the Spider-Man comics. This team includes iconic enemies of Spider-Man, like Doctor Octopus, Electro, Sandman, Mysterio, Vulture, and Kraven the Hunter. So, not only has Aaron Taylor-Johnson just landed a solo movie in Sony’s Marvel film, but he’s likely landed a character we’ll see more of in other films in the coming years.
Kraven the Hunter won’t be Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s first role in a Marvel film. Previously, he was in Avengers: Ultron as Pietro Maximoff, also known as Quicksilver. Marvel had briefly moved forward with plans to bring him back in the role for Wandavision recently, but that didn’t work out. It’s hard to believe that particularly bothers Aaron Taylor-Johnson in this moment, when he’s landed Kraven. Recently, the actor was also seen in the Christopher Nolan film, Tenet.
Right now, we don’t know the plot for Kraven the Hunter. We know that J.C. Chandor will be the director. He wrote and directed Triple Frontier. Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, a screenwriting duo, will be teaming up with Richard Wenk for the script. Art Marcum & Matt Holloway wrote the script for the 2008 Iron Man film that got the Marvel Cinematic Universe that we know today started, so it’s safe to say the script for Kraven the Hunter is in experienced hands. Alongside them, Richard Wenk will be working on the script. He’s responsible for The Equalizer films and wrote The Expendables 2.
Fortunately for Marvel Comics fans who’ve been waiting to see Kraven the Hunter for a long time already, this announcement also comes with a release date. Unfortunately, it is a ways off. We’ll be able to see Kraven in action on Jan 13, 2023.
