Aaron Taylor-Johnson is Kraven the Hunter. Wednesday afternoon, the Avengers: Age of Ultron alum was cast as the classic Spider-Man villain in Sony’s Kraven the Hunter solo movie set for release in 2023. Though that feature is due for release in 18 months or so, the casting does come a little early in the production cycle, begging us to ask the question โ is the actor appearing as the character somewhere else ahead of time?
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With Spider-Man: No Way Home on the docket for release this December, it makes sense for the character to be teased in that. After all, many thought he’d appear in the threequel anyway. Though no news has surfaced in regards to his appearance there, it’s likely the film crew will reconvene for pick-up shots or additional photography in the coming months.
At the very least, could Kraven appear in a post-credits scene?
The movie itself is already packed to the brim with appearances. In addition to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), and Electro (Jamie Foxx) are reported to appear. That’s not even including the rumored appearances from Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe) to Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox,) Tobey Maguire, and Andrew Garfield. Because of that, it’s probably unlikely โ even though some possibility should still remain on the table.
Kraven the Hunter is being directed by JC Chandor (Triple Frontier), from a script by Iron Man scribes Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, plus The Equalizer scribe Richard Wenk. At one time, it was Wenk who said the movie would feature Spider-Man.
“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.”
Kraven the Hunter is currently set for release on January 13, 2023 while No Way Home enters theaters this December.
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Cover photo by Rich Fury/Getty Image