We got some big Kraven the Hunter casting news earlier today when it was announced that Russell Crowe (Man of Steel, Gladiator) has been enlisted for a mysterious role in Sony Pictures' Spider-Man spinoff, and it's now come to light that Kodi Smit-McPhee was offered the part of Chameleon.
Former Collider writer Jeff Sneider took to Twitter to reveal that the Academy Award-nominated Power of the Dog actor, who also played Nightcrawler in the X-Men movies, was asked to portray the shape-shifting villain, but was forced to decline due to a scheduling conflict.
Though we don't have much more to go on, this would obviously confirm that Chameleon will appear in the movie.
In the comics, Dmitri Smerdyakov was Kraven's half-brother and the very first adversary of Spider-Man. Sergei Kravinoff was often abusive towards Smerdyakov, but if Chameleon is indeed set to be the principal antagonist, we can probably expect their positions to be reversed.
No word on which other actors are being looked at for the role, but we'll be sure to keep you updated. We do know that Jodie Turner-Smith, who was rumored to be on Sony's radar to play Calypso, has not been cast.
J.C. Chandor (Triple Frontier; A Most Violent Year) will direct Kraven from a screenplay from Art Marcum, Matt Holloway (Iron Man; Uncharted) and Richard Wenk (The Equalizer; Jack Reacher: Never Go Back). The movie is currently scheduled for a theatrical release on January 13, 2023.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.