Kraven the Hunter Trailer Reveals First Look at Aaron-Taylor ...

The first trailer for Sony’s next installment in their Venom-verse-slash-Spider-Man spinoff shared universe...thing, Kraven the Hunter, reveals our first look at Bullet Train and Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Marvel villain/antihero Sergei Kravinoff aka Kraven. Released courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing as part of the ongoing CinemaCon event, Kraven the Hunter will continue the studio’s universe of Spider-Man antiheroes and villains. Without Spider-Man. Check out the newly released trailer for Kraven the Hunter below.

Directed by J. C. Chandor (Triple Frontier, A Most Violent Year) from a screenplay by Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Richard Wenk, Kraven the Hunter will tell the origin of the Marvel character. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for "The Amazing Spider-Man #15" back in 1964, Sergei Kravinoff was raised in Russia during the time of the Russian Revolution, and after spending time in Kenya, finds an affinity for hunting. After being given a mysterious herbal potion that enhances his strength, speed, and senses, Kraven tires of big game hunting and is drawn to Spider-Man, slowly becoming obsessed with being the man to catch the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.

Much like Venom and Morbius before him, Kraven will undergo a few changes as he makes the leap from page to screen. Thus, Kraven will join Venom and Morbius as a twisted avenger, with the movie putting the comic book character in more of an antihero role rather than the villainous supervillain he is usually depicted as.

Kraven the Hunter will be led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the title character. The Tenet star will be joined the Sony outing by the likes of Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) as Calypso, Fred Hechinger (The Pale Blue Eye) as Dmitri Smerdyakov aka Chameleon, as well as Christopher Abbott, Alessandro Nivola, Levi Miller, and Academy Award winner Russell Crowe.

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Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson has teased how Kraven the Hunter will differ from the rest of the Marvel universe, thanks in large part to shooting on location and keeping things personal. “Kraven being shot entirely on location is going to make all the difference. It’s going to add something really beautiful to our personal story,” Taylor-Johnson explained last year. “It also sets Kraven apart from that Marvel stage look. It’s important for this character to be in the real world. It’s important for the authenticity of the story. When you’re running on streets barefoot, you take in those elements and play within that.”

His co-star Russell Crowe meanwhile has teased the darkness behind Kraven the Hunter saying, “I’ve talked to J.C. Chandor, the director. He’s really excited about what he’s got in front of him and really excited about the way people will receive it. I think I can sort of pass on that one of the things he said that it’s just an unexpectedly dark world.”

Kraven the Hunter is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 6, 2023. You can view the official poster below.