Sony is preparing for another Marvel release following Morbius, and fans hope Kraven the Hunter fairs better than some of Sony’s past work. The film, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, is set to release on Jan. 13, 2023, and will follow the Russian immigrant Sergei Kravinoff on a mission to prove he’s the greatest hunter in the world.
Earlier this year, Alessandro Nivola was announced as one of the film’s antagonists, with Christopher Abbott joining him shortly after. In addition, Fred Hechinger signed on as another villain in the upcoming movie, with three primary antagonists now in the film. However, Nivola’s role is still a mystery, and the exact character he plays within the Spider-Man shared universe is unknown. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nivola discussed his work on Kraven the Hunter and why he prefers shooting on location instead of on a green screen.
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Nivola is happy not to be doing the typical superhero movie, and the actor won’t be stepping into tights any time soon. However, fans eagerly anticipate Kraven the Hunter, as the film needs to be a box office success after the infamous Morbius flop.
“These movies all have a certain formula to them, but J.C. said that he wanted to shoot all on location. The physical ability of the characters in the movie is also more grounded in reality. People aren’t flying around or anything. J.C. described it as the most incredible Olympic athlete you’ve ever seen. Moreover, the role, which I’m not yet allowed to disclose, was just a real acting opportunity for me. You’ll see. It’s just a great character part, and I didn’t have to do any CGI. I didn’t have to do any green screen. I only transform, physically, in the final moments of the movie, so it’s just a classic villain role. It had a really interesting, complex psychology and personal history to draw on, and the movie has a time jump in it, so the character changes a lot from the way he is in the beginning of the film. It was as much of an acting opportunity as any other film I’ve done, and I didn’t have to contend with wearing a spandex outfit or anything like that”
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Sony has slowly been fleshing out their Spider-Man shared universe without including the titular hero himself. In 2018, Venom made its way to theaters, starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams. The film received mediocre reviews, however, it was a success at the box office, pulling in $856 million on a $100 million budget. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was released three years later with co-star Woody Harrelson. The sequel received negative reviews, with a diminishing $506 million box office return.
Finally, earlier this year, Morbius was released, receiving dreadful reviews and $163 million at the box office on a $75 million budget. The movie became a meme, prompting a re-release in theaters which, once again, flopped. The Jared Leto lead film was a massive failure for Sony, and the company has a lot riding on its future releases.
Aside from Kraven, a few films confirmed to be in the works are Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which is sure to perform well, although it is not part of the live-action universe. In addition, Madame Web, The Sinister Six movie, and a Black Cat film are all in development at Sony, and the studio is relying on the movies to do well to keep their shared universe going. But, for now, we have to wait for Kraven the Hunter, the next film in the Spider-Man universe.
