We haven’t heard a great deal from the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters’ Kraven the Hunter since it was confirmed Aaron Taylor-Johnson would play the title role in May, with J.C. Chandor also officially confirmed to direct the comic book adaptation that’s set for a January 13th, 2023 release date.
Looking at the SPUMC’s roster of projects, the focus is getting placed firmly on the antiheroes rather than clean cut good guys, although that might have something to do with the fact the studio doesn’t control the rights to many big name favorites outside of Spider-Man. Venom and sequel Let There Be Carnage, Morbius and Kraven all revolve around morally flawed and complex protagonists, with a new rumor claiming the latter is eying Jodie Turner-Smith for Calypso.
In the pages of Marvel Comics, Calypso Ezili is a voodoo priestess of Haitian descent, who regularly acts as a partner in crime, romantic interest or occasional foe of Sergei Kravinoff. Turner-Smith may have recently dropped out of headlining Netflix’s The Witcher prequel Blood Origin due to scheduling conflicts, but maybe she’s looking to add another big project to her resume having recently been seen opposite Michael B. Jordan in Amazon’s hit Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse.
The 34 year-old’s star is firmly on the rise, and it would be fitting for the SPUMC to fill the roster of Kraven the Hunter with lesser-known characters to help lay the foundations for the wider universe. Taylor-Johnson is a fantastic actor with the right material, and if he pitches his performance somewhere between his deranged turn in Netflix’s Outlaw King and the last time he played an Eastern European superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Turner-Smith’s reserved gravitas would make for an excellent double act.
