Aaron Taylor-Johnson Confirms Kraven Will Be “The Hunter That We All Want” (Exclusive)

Aaron Taylor-Johnson will star in Sony Pictures’ upcoming . He caused a stir among Marvel Comics fans by describing the character as an “animal lover” previously. Some fans wondered how that computes with a character who, in the comics, is an obsessive hunter, eventually hunting the most challenging game he can imagine, Spider-Man. ComicBook.com had the opportunity to chat with Taylor-Johnson during the press tour for his latest film, Bullet Train. Chris Killian asked the question on every fan’s mind: will Kraven still have that “big-ass lion’s mane” in the movie?

Taylor-Johnson wouldn’t confirm any specifics about the movie. He did take the opportunity to clarify who his version of Kraven the Hunter is in the film. 

“I can’t confirm any details or anything,” Taylor-Johnson says. “And also, I guess that was probably a little taken out of context and then run. I mean, I think you know what I meant what really stated was that he was a protector of the natural world I said and he’s a conservationist, which is probably more accurate, and then should have stopped there, full stop, shouldn’t have gone on beyond that because, yeah I think you know you really got to understand, yeah, he is a hunter and from that world of hunting and there’s so many aspects. What I love about that character is that what is he humanizing is that he has flaws, right? Kraven is a beautiful character. Sergei Kravinov is a beautiful character because it’s someone who’s really understanding themselves and has flaws. This is a character that was built ages ago and it’s in a new time and era, but yeah, is he going to be the hunter that we all want to see? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.”

Steve Ditko and Stan Lee created Kraven the Hunter. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 in 1964, 58 years ago. That lion’s man was present in his debut, defining the character visually. His credentials as the world’s top big game hunter often led him to overestimate his abilities in his battles against Spider-Man, leading to his defeat. The 1987 story “Kraven’s Last Hunt” by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck redefined the character, adding new layers of depth. It seems the filmmakers feel he needs a little more updating for the 21st century.

J.C. Chandor is directing Sony’s . The film opens in theaters on January 13th.