Aaron Taylor-Johnson cast as lead role in Spider-Man spin-off movie Kraven the Hunter

Aaron Taylor-Johnson has been cast as the lead role in Marvel's upcoming Spider-Man spin-off movie, Kraven the Hunter, Sony Pictures has announced.

Taylor-Johnson previously played Pietro Maximoff, aka Quicksilver, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing as the character in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Avengers: Age of Ultron. 

However, the Spider-Man spin-off movies are not technically part of the MCU – instead, they form the "Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters", which so far only includes Venom but will soon add both Morbius and Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage. Things get strange when you consider that Michael Keeton's Vulture will appear in Morbius, having last been seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming – which is part of the MCU. Blame it on the multiverse, or something.

Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kraven the Hunter, is one of Spider-Man's most notorious enemies. The supervillain is also the formidable half-brother of the Chameleon and starred in one of Spider-Man's darkest storylines in comics. Before he started hunting Spider-Man, Kraven was an excessively violent big game hunter who ingested a mystical serum that dramatically increased his strength and slowed his aging. Kraven and Spider-Man have a long history of hard-fought battles, so the supervillain's standalone movie could take any number of forms.

You will also recognize Taylor-Johnson from his roles in Bullet Train alongside Brad Pitt, Christopher Nolan's Tenet, and 2014's Godzilla starring fellow MCU alum Elizabeth Olsen. According to a report from Deadline, Taylor-Johnson caught the attention of Sony Pictures when the studio saw early footage of his upcoming action flick Bullet Train. 

Kraven the Hunter reaches cinemas January 13, 2023. In the meantime, be sure to check our piece on everything coming in Marvel Phase 4.