Everyone’s favorite burly Aussie, Russell Crowe, has joined the cast of Sony’s upcoming Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter, it was announced Wednesday. The Oscar-winning actor will be starring alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the Spider-Man spinoff.
Details about Crowe's role have yet to be revealed, but The Hollywood Reporter reports that “many of the main characters are said to be Kraven’s family members.”
Taylor-Johnson is starring in the titular role as part of a multi-film deal to play the notorious villain. Kraven first appeared in a 1964 issue of the Spider-Man comic series as a sinister hunter who strives to capture the elusive Spidey as his ultimate prize. One of the most iconic adversaries in the Spider-verse, Kraven has also encountered other Marvel characters like Venom and Black Panther.
Crowe is no stranger to the world of superhero blockbusters. The Gladiator actor played Jor-El in Zack Synder’s Man of Steel in 2013, and this summer, he’s set to don Zeus’ toga in Taika Waititi’s Marvel sequel Thor: Love and Thunder.
Kraven the Hunter is just one of many films in development as part of Sony’s expansion of the Marvel Spider-Man universe, which includes the recent box office (and Oscar-snubbed) hit Spider-Man: No Way Home and the soon-to-be-released Jared Leto vehicle Morbius. J.C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year) has been tapped to direct Kraven the Hunter, which is slated for a January 2023 release.
