With Spider-Man: No Way Home responsible for opening the multiverse, the fusion of the cinematic worlds of Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios seems inevitable. As Marvel Studios is keen to give a clean slate to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to start over again, Sony Pictures is rapidly expanding its live-action Spider-Verse. After the commercial success of Venom and its sequel, the studio will soon be releasing Morbius starring Jared Leto. Moreover, the studio is expanding the web-slinger’s rogue gallery by adding Kraven the Hunter, portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson. As it is being reported that the movie will soon enter production, The White Lotus breakout star Fred Hechinger has been confirmed to play the role of Chameleon.
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Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who previously played the role of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron was a surprising choice for obvious reasons to play the role of Kraven. Earlier this month, veteran actor Russell Crowe was also enlisted for an undisclosed role for the upcoming movie. Now, Deadline has confirmed that The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger will be playing Chameleon/Dmitri Smerdyakov, the half-brother of Kraven.
Though Kraven is widely regarded as one of the strongest adversaries of Spider-Man for his unparalleled hunting prowess, Chameleon has also left his mark as a formidable foe for the web-slinger. Possessing the ability to mimic the appearance of any person, Chameleon has pushed Spider-Man to his edge on multiple occasions.
Prior to the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home, it was rumored that Kraven the Hunter would be appearing in a brief cameo role in the movie. Moreover, a lot of fans have also claimed that the movie did tease the arrival of the ace hunter in form of a silhouette, as Doctor Strange tries to close the gates of the multiverse at the end of the movie. Interestingly, No Way Home writer Chris McKenna has revealed that a lot of plans did not make their way through, hinting at Kraven’s arrival.
With multiple reports suggesting that Kraven the Hunter is being adapted from the critically acclaimed comic book run Kraven the Last Hunt, the role of Chameleon might be vital. In the comics, Chameleon has a personal grudge against Spider-Man as he blames the superhero for Kraven’s suicide. As a result, he makes his life’s mission to make Spider-Man suffer by going to extreme lengths and teaming up with the web-slingers other enemies.
While it is yet to be seen what grand plans Sony has for Kraven and its ever-expanding Spider-Verse, the future does seem bright for fans of Spider-Man and his coterie of supervillains.
Kraven the Hunter is scheduled to release on January 13, 2023.
