“Kick Ass” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” star Aaron Taylor-Johnson will portray another comic book character after being casted as “Kraven the Hunter”…
Aaron Taylor-Johnson — best known for past roles in comic book films such as “Kick Ass” and “Avengers: Age of Ultron” — will once again return to the same genre after booking the lead role in the upcoming Spider-Man spinoff film “Kraven the Hunter.”
Sony announced the news on Wednesday with J.C. Chandor, who directed the Netflix heist film “Triple Frontier,” is heading up the project set for release on Jan 13, 2023.
In addition to his work in the comic book films, Johnson has also starred in movies such as “Tenet,” “Savages” and “Nocturnal Animals.”
The character Kraven the Hunter was born Sergei Kravinoff, a Soviet immigrant whose family fled to the United States following the revolution in Russia, and he later became famous as a big game hunter. In fact, Kraven always preferred an even playing field with his prey so after taking an herbal potion provided to him by a voodoo witch doctor named Calypso, he was granted enhanced strength, speed and senses to match the fiercest animals and thus he began hunting them by using his bare hands.
In the comics, Kraven eventually became consumed with Spider-Man as the ultimate prey but time and time again he failed to actually capture or kill the webslinger. In his most famous storyline, Kraven eventually teams with his half-brother Chameleon and he’s able to get the drop on Spider-Man, which leads to him shooting the superhero with a coma inducing drug before leaving him buried in a grave for the next two weeks. While Spider-Man is out of action, Kraven assumes his superheroic identity and he dishes out punishment to criminals in the most vicious manner possible. He eventually captures a villain named Vermin, who was the one criminal Spider-Man was never able to take down on his own.
Kraven then returns to the grave where Spider-Man is found alive and he releases Vermin back into the world feeling as if he had finally conquered his greatest prey. He then left a note confessing to his crimes and impersonating Spider-Man before ultimately taking his own life.
Much like the other Spider-Man spinoff films such as “Venom” and the upcoming sequel, there’s no telling what kind of story “Kraven the Hunter” will tell without a likely crossover with Spider-Man but anything seems possible these days.
Production on “Kraven the Hunter” is expected to start in 2022 with an early 2023 release date for the film.
