Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off Kraven the Hunter has an ever-expanding cast list and the latest addition is Alessandro Nivola as the villain of the piece. This is slightly confusing, because Kraven is himself a villain, and an antagonist of Spider-Man. But, it looks as though Nivola’s villain will be Kraven’s foe.
The cast that has been announced so far is Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Kraven the Hunter, Ariana DeBose as Calypso Ezili, Fred Hechinger as Kraven’s brother Chameleon and Russell Crowe will fill an unspecified role. Of course, this is not the first time that a villain has had their own movie, with iconic characters such as Cruella DeVil, The Joker and Harley Quinn all getting their own vehicles recently. This is a more unusual case however, because Kraven hasn’t already been introduced in a Spider-Man movie to then get his own spin-off.
Kraven the Hunter is one of the most formidable members of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery and a founding member of the Sinister Six. He is a big-game hunter who wants to add Spider-Man to his collection. However, he has a strong sense of honour and can be viewed as more of an antihero than an outright villain. Antiheroes such as DC’s Black Adam and Marvel’s Moon Knight are getting their own vehicles this year.
Alessandro Nivola is known for Face/Off, Jurassic Park III, American Hustle, A Most Violent Year, Selma and The Many Saints of Newark. His upcoming movies include White Noise with Adam Driver, Boston Strangler with Keira Knightley, and an untitled David O Russell project.
Sony is spinning the phenomenal success of Spider-Man: No Way Home into several spin-offs, including the imminent Morbius starring Jared Leto and Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson, as well as Kraven the Hunter. Venom may or may not be enveloped into the MCU in the future and the X-Men are tentatively being introduced, if the Doctor Strange 2 trailer is anything to go by.
If you want to keep up-to-date with all things Marvel, check out our guide to Marvel Phase 4.