You might have forgotten, but there’s a new Marvel film set in Sony’s universe headed to theaters before 2024 is over, and that’s Kraven the Hunter. With the titular character being an iconic Spider-Man rogue, it’s only natural that the conversation has turned to the web-slinger before the film has even arrived.
Kraven the Hunter is one of the most unique villains Spider-Man has faced, boasting enhanced attributes like speed, strength, and sense that allow him to stalk and take out his prey, including Peter Parker. In the upcoming film, the character will be played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in his second Marvel role to date following his brief stint in Avengers: Age of Ultron as Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver. Taylor-Johnson also played the title character in both Kick-Ass and Kick-Ass 2, technically making Kraven his fourth superhero outing and his first real turn as a supervillain.
When speaking to Screen Rant, Johnson mused about the possibility of Kraven going toe-to-toe with Spider-Man on screen, and while there was no concrete answer as to whether or not this would happen in the near future, the star didn’t waste any time expressing his desire for it to reach fruition.
“I mean, it’s very much the question to everyone else really, right? Because I think what we’ve done, what we’ve set up in this story is a really rich character that definitely has the legs to go on and do more damage. I think he should go toe-to-toe with some superheroes that we know. One of my favorite stories is Kraven’s Last Hunt. It was one of the source materials I used to go back from.
He’s got some dark demons there and we are basically showing the birth of that and how he becomes a villain that we then come to know. So really come see this movie, man. Come see this movie. I promise you it won’t disappoint. It’s got all the beats that you want and more. I think it could be an audience’s sort of villain favorite, definitely go toe-to-toe with some other people down the line, man.”
As you might expect, there are no set plans for a Spidey/Kraven face-off anytime soon, and the likelihood of it happening at all will rely on how fans receive the upcoming film. Of course, we expect to see Venom face Spider-Man on screen long before a new character like Kraven does, but who knows ⏤ perhaps the new movie will blow the lid off of Sony’s expectations and convince the studio to pivot all other plans. If it’s better than Madame Web and Morbius (not that it’s hard to be), then the chances of us seeing Taylor-Johnson in the role again significantly increase.
Taylor-Johnson is not the only familiar face we’ll be seeing in Kraven. The film also stars Oscar winner Russell Crowe as Nikolai Kravinoff, Oscar winner Ariana DeBose as Calypso, and Wolf Man’s Christopher Abbott as The Foreigner. Early reactions have been largely positive thus far, but Sony has become known for throwing us unwanted curveballs. If you’re eager to see whether or not the studio succeeds with its latest endeavor, Kraven the Hunter releases in theaters on Dec. 13, and if you can’t wait until then, you can watch the first eight minutes of the movie online for free now.