Former ‘X-Men’ star turned down ‘Kraven the Hunter’ role

The lines between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe are becoming increasingly blurred by Kraven the Hunter, even if Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy appeared to hint that the two superhero franchises existed in the same multiverse at the very least.

J.C. Chandor’s comic book adaptation boasts Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the lead role, with the actor having previously played the MCU’s Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron, while Russell Crowe was recently added to the ensemble, just a few months before the Academy Award winner appears as Zeus in Taika Waititi’s Thor: Love and Thunder.

As it turns out, another star with Marvel connections turned down the opportunity to return to the world of spandex and superheroes, with reporter Jeff Sneider revealing on Twitter that X-Men alumni and recent Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee was forced to decline the chance to play Chameleon due to a scheduling conflict.

In the pages of Marvel Comics, Dmitri Smerdyakov is often depicted as the half-brother of Sergei Kravinoff, so the news that the part is being offered around would be a decent indicator that Chameleon is going to have a significant presence in Kraven the Hunter. With ex-Nightcrawler Smit-McPhee unavailable, though, it remains to be seen who ends up being hired for the job.