After Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Morbius, Sony is continuing to tell the stories of various Spider-Man villains with Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web. Both films are currently in production with Avengers: Age of Ultron‘s Aaron Taylor-Johnson set to play Kraven. There are some other big names on the cast list, including Alessandro Nivola who is best known for films such as Face/Off and American Hustle. Currently, Nivola is promoting his new film, Spin Me Round, and the topic of Kraven the Hunter came up during a chat with The Hollywood Reporter.
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“Yeah, it was all from having worked with him before on A Most Violent Year, and it’s funny because up until this year, no director had ever hired me twice,” Nivola said of Kraven director J.C. Chandor. “And then in one year, David O. Russell put me in a second movie [Amsterdam], as did J.C., so maybe this ship is turning around. [Laughs.] But the most enticing part about Kraven was that J.C. was gonna direct it; we had such a great time on A Most Violent Year. I also knew Chris Abbott from A Most Violent Year, and so it was kind of a reunion in that way.”
Nivola continued, “These movies all have a certain formula to them, but J.C. said that he wanted to shoot all on location. The physical ability of the characters in the movie is also more grounded in reality. People aren’t flying around or anything. J.C. described it as the most incredible Olympic athlete you’ve ever seen. Moreover, the role, which I’m not yet allowed to disclose, was just a real acting opportunity for me. You’ll see. It’s just a great character part, and I didn’t have to do any CGI. I didn’t have to do any green screen. I only transform, physically, in the final moments of the movie, so it’s just a classic villain role. It had a really interesting, complex psychology and personal history to draw on, and the movie has a time jump in it, so the character changes a lot from the way he is in the beginning of the film. It was as much of an acting opportunity as any other film I’ve done, and I didn’t have to contend with wearing a spandex outfit or anything like that. [Laughs.]”
Nivola isn’t the only Kraven star to talk about the movie being filmed on location. During another interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor-Johnson spoke about how the film will be different from other comic book films.
“Kraven being shot entirely on location is going to make all the difference. It’s going to add something really beautiful to our personal story. It also sets Kraven apart from that Marvel stage look. It’s important for this character to be in the real world. It’s important for the authenticity of the story. When you’re running on streets barefoot, you take in those elements and play within that,” Taylor-Johnson explained.
Kraven the Hunter is currently slated to arrive in theaters on January 13, 2023.
