Sony and Marvel’s Kraven the Hunter has found its leading man — Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
In a twinned announcement, the studios also revealed that the event pic will hit theaters Jan. 13, 2023, and that Taylor-Johnson has signed a multi-picture deal to portray the classic character.
Directed by J.C. Chandor, the film is a new entry in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel characters. Kraven is one of Marvel’s most iconic and notorious antiheroes, who has encountered Venom and Black Panther, among many others, as well as being one of Spider-Man’s best-known and most formidable enemies.
Taylor-Johnson wowed Sony executives with his performance in Bullet Train, the upcoming Brad Pitt film directed by David Leitch, and the studio was eager to lock him down for more. The actor has superhero credentials in his background, starring in the cult hit Kick-Ass (2010) and its 2013 sequel, as well as playing Quicksilver in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Last year, he appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
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In the comics, Kraven debuted all the way back in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 15, with the character created by Spider-Man co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The big-game hunter decided to target the most dangerous foe he could imagine: Spider-Man. During his long tenure in the comics, Kraven is known for appearing in the classic 1980s storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” in which the villain succeeded in defeating Spider-Man, burying him alive and assuming his identity.
News of the Kraven the Hunter casting comes as Sony continues to build out its budding universe, with upcoming installments including Tom Hardy’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, due out Sept. 24 and Jared Leto’s Morbius, slated for Jan. 21, 2022.
Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing Kraven the Hunter. The screenplay comes from Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Richard Wenk.
Taylor-Johnson is repped by WME, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Sloane Offer.
