Aaron Taylor-Johnson To Play Lead In Marvel's 'Kraven The Hunter'

KEY POINTS

The role was first offered to Keanu Reeves
"Kraven the Hunter" appeared before as a villain in Spider-Man comics
The character had also locked horns with Venom and Black Panther

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" star Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been roped in to portray the title character in Sony Picture's upcoming Marvel movie, "Kraven the Hunter."

The movie will be helmed by J. C. Chandor, who previously directed "Triple Frontier," "A Most Violent Year" and "Making a Scene." The feature movie is penned by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. Richard Wenk, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will serve as producers.

"Kraven the Hunter" is a Marvel comic character seen as a villain in "Spider-Man" comics. Kraven, born Sergei Kravinoff, was first introduced in 1964 as a villain in "Spider-Man."

The character considers himself the greatest hunter in the world. He dons a jacket, which looks like it is made from a lion's head and mane.

This is not the first time the 30-year-old actor had portrayed a comic-book adaptation on screen.

Previously, Taylor-Johnson worked in an action-comedy where he played the title role of "Kick-Ass," which was released in 2010. He also portrayed Quicksilver in the 2015 movie "Avengers: Age of Ultron."

Taylor-Johnson's most recent work includes Christopher Nolan's "Tenet." The actor wrapped up the production of his upcoming movie "Bullet Train" in March. The movie also stars Brad Pitt.

Taylor-Johnson's deal will reportedly include movies beyond the "Kraven" franchise. Besides Spider-Man, the character had locked horns with other popular Marvel characters such as Venom and Black Panther.

Rumors about "Kraven the Hunter" movie started circulating in 2017 after Sony and Marvel Studios' joint venture, "Spider-Man: Homecoming," was released. Interestingly, Taylor-Johnson wasn't the first choice for the character as Keanu Reeves was offered the role. However, "The Matrix" star passed on the project.

Kraven was originally created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The character has been popularly known for "Kraven's Last Hunt," the 1987 comic book storyline penned by J.M. DeMatteis and Mike Zeck. Many fans still consider this version to be the greatest Spider-Man story of all time.

Besides "Kraven the Hunter," Sony Marvel projects also include "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and "Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Morbius." The "Kraven the Hunter" is slated to release on Jan. 13, 2023.