X-Men Star Kodi Smit-McPhee Reportedly Turned Down Major Marvel Villain Role

02/09/2022 09:37 pm EST

Earlier this week, X-Men star Kodi Smit-McPhee received his first Academy Award nomination for his performance in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog. As it turns out, he also nearly got his second role based in the Marvel mythos, only scheduling conflicts ended up getting in the way. After appearing as Nightcrawler in a few of 20th Century Fox's later X-Men films, one Hollywood insider now suggests Smit-McPhee was also offered the role of Chameleon in Sony's upcoming Kraven the Hunter movie.

The Ankler reporter Jeff Sneider says the offer was out to Smit-McPhee and his team, though the actor ultimately had to pass because of a tight schedule. Kraven is expected to begin production later this year.

Wednesday, it was revealed Russell Crowe has also boarded the project, his second Marvel role as well. After portraying the Greek god Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, it's expected Crowe will play Kraven's (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) father in the solo outing.

At one point, Kraven scribe Richard Wenk said Spider-Man would be included in the feature, though that doesn't appear to be the case any longer.

"I'm just starting it. It's an interesting world. A great character," Wenk shared with DiscussingFilm. "It's going to adhere very closely to the lore of Kraven the Hunter. And he is going to come face to face with Spider-Man. I'm just beginning it, beginning the process, and because it's a big IP, Marvel world, there's lots of hurdles to overcome before you can start writing, to crack the right story and to get the right tone. It's a new world for me. But what's nice about it is it's a very grounded character, he doesn't have a lot of crazy superpowers and things like that so he's more grounded and that fits what I like to do. That's as much as I know."

X-Men: Apocalypse is now streaming on Disney+.

What characters would you like to see Smit-McPhee in the MCU? Who else do you think should play Nightcrawler? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting up our writer @AdamBarnhardt on Twitter to chat all things Marvel!

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.