Marvel movies and TV shows are in full swing for the foreseeable future, both from Marvel Studios and other companies with the rights to various characters. This includes Sony Pictures, who is working to expand on the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters (SUMC) over the coming years with some major blockbusters on the way.
September 2021 will bring the debut of Tom Hardy's Venom: Let There Be Carnage while Jared Leto's Morbius is set to arrive in 2022, and the studio has big plans for a Kraven the Hunter solo movie as well. This was confirmed by the recent casting of Quicksilver star Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the leading role, with confirmation that the movie is set for theatrical release on January 13, 2023.
Taylor-Johnson's casting was certainly a surprising announcement, especially considering other high-profile names Sony went after for the part.
OPTIONS EXPLORED FOR KRAVEN THE HUNTER
Justin Kroll of Deadline reported on Twitter that Sony Pictures had multiple major actors in mind to play the role of Kraven the Hunter in the upcoming solo movie. This list included stars like Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, John David Washington and Adam Driver before Aaron Taylor-Johnson signed on for the movie.
Taylor-Johnson reportedly won the offer with his outstanding work in the upcoming movie Bullet Train.
Sony had been aiming high from this role approaching everyone from Brad Pitt and Keanu to JDW and Driver to star but sources say recent footage of ATJ in the upcoming action pic Bullet Train, blew away Sony execs who moved fast to offer him the part. https://t.co/K1YlezOgab
SONY GOING FOR THE BEST
Sony certainly isn't lacking for high-profile stars with actors like Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson in the Venom movies and Jared Leto in Morbius. That being said, the names listed in this release are names that are at the top of most studios' lists for any movie that could potentially be made.
While Brad Pitt may be the only one of these actors with Marvel (meaning an eight-frame cameo in Deadpool 2), the other three all have extensive film resumes, especially over the last few years.
John David Washington starred in 2020's Christopher Nolan hit Tenet while Adam Driver spent most of the last decade suited up as the complicated Kylo Ren in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Both are currently in high demand for both blockbuster movies and indie projects alike, and Driver even drew interest from director Zack Snyder for an undisclosed DCEU role.
Reeves was even offered the role of Kraven according to a report from the Illuminerdi, although he reportedly turned it down.
Even with this extensive list of A-listers, Sony appears to be quite pleased with Taylor-Johnson taking the role. After playing Pietro Maximoff in Marvel Studios' Avengers: Age of Ultron, the actor should have all the tools and experience needed to take on this big-time role.
Kraven the Hunter will debut in theaters on January 13, 2023.
