Last week, Spider-Man fans started getting psyched when it began to look like Keanu Reeves might be in line to play the title role in Sony's Kraven the Hunter film.
It's been a while since any updates were shared about J.C. Chandor's plans for the spinoff, but the studio has to be on the hunt for its leading man at this stage. Had Spider-Man 3 not been a Multiverse adventure, it would have made perfect sense for Kraven to track down the fugitive Peter Parker. Instead, he's getting his own SPUMC solo flick.
Unfortunately, Reeves is said to have passed on the role "months" ago, so who can possibly get fans as excited?
We have some ideas you might like, and in no particular order, this feature presents 10 actors who could prove to be the perfect fit for Sergei Kravinoff...
10. Henry Cavill
Superman might be his most famous role, but Henry Cavill has made a noteworthy effort these past few years to prove there's more to him than a red cape. Whether it's as The Witcher's Geralt or Mission: Impossible - Fallout's villain, he clearly has range.
Kraven the Hunter could be a perfect project for the Brit, especially now we know he has the ferocity needed to bring a complex baddie like this to life on screen.
His physique is impossible to ignore, making it easy to picture him battling both big game and Spider-Man himself.
There's more to Cavill than Clark Kent, and with no concrete plans for Superman at Warner Bros., a Marvel role could be a logical next step for the actor.
9. Luke Evans
Luke Evans knows his way around big budget blockbuster films, but has surprisingly not yet signed up for a major superhero franchise. That's Marvel's, DC's, and our loss.
He's gone toe-to-toe with everyone from Vin Diesel to Dwayne Johnson, and even the Beast, and shouldn't find it difficult to convince us that he's a formidable hunter capable of putting Spider-Man six feet under.
Beauty and the Beast and The Girl on the Train serve as proof that he's got the talent to give Kraven some serious swagger, a must for a baddie who walks around in a pretty silly looking vest!
Evans is one of our favorite picks, and if you stop and think about it, we're sure he'll be one of yours as well.
8. Daveed Diggs
As Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in Hamilton (currently playing on Disney+), Daveed Diggs was an undeniable highlight. However, for proof he would make a great Kraven, look no further than his work in TNT's Snowpiercer.
His raw, brutal performance as Andre Layton points to him being able to add some depth to the damaged Kraven, and while he may be a villain, the audience will still need to find a way to root for him to some degree.
It helps, then, that Diggs has some serious charisma.
Before anyone starts, the actor's race is irrelevant, and there's nothing to say Kraven must be white. In fact, depending how closely the SPUMC is tied to the MCU, the villain could easily be revealed as Wakandan!
7. Manu Bennett
Known for his work in The Hobbit and Arrow, Manu Bennett isn't a big name film star, but he is someone who has proven himself a solid actor with the potential to be a lead.
His time as Deathstroke put that villain on the map for many fans, with Bennett stealing the show from Stephen Amell. Sony casting a lesser known actor gives that person a chance to put their stamp on Kraven the Hunter and do something new with the character.
Slade Wilson is a different enough villain that the similarities wouldn't be too obvious, and we're confident Bennett could make Kraven both a terrifying and magnetic presence on screen.
It might be wishful thinking, but he deserves an audition at the very least.
6. Jason Momoa
Casting Tom Hardy as Venom and Jared Leto as Morbius indicates that a strong screen presence is an important part of Sony's plan for making these Spider-Man villains characters filmgoers can get behind.
With that in mind, Jason Momoa is an actor who could bring charisma to Kraven the Hunter in spades.
Yes, he plays Aquaman in the DCEU, but that doesn't mean he can't squeeze this project into his schedule as well. We've seen plenty of actors pull double duty, and it no longer seems that problematic for studios like Marvel and DC.
Momoa is also a fan-favorite pick for the role of Kraven, and as well as looking the part, combining Arthur Curry with Frontier's Declan Harp might result in the best possible version of this Spider-Man villain on screen.
5. Jeffrey Dean Morgan
No stranger to genre fare, Jeffrey Dean Morgan has proved to be a pitch perfect Negan in The Walking Dead, taking the survivor from despicable villain to a sympathetic anti-hero who is now one of the show's leads.
Those are important traits for Kraven the Hunter, as he's a character who needs both a sympathetic side and one that is truly frightening. This is a man who fights lions with his bear hands, and has no qualms about going toe to toe with the immensely powerful Spider-Man.
After he defeated the wall-crawler, Kraven took his own life, and even if this first film doesn't tackle that particular plot point, a future one might.
Morgan missed out on playing Flashpoint Batman, but a Marvel role may suit him just as well.
4. Idris Elba
Idris Elba wasn't treated particularly well by Marvel Studios as Thor's Heimdall, while the less said about his time in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance the better.
Elba could bring his experience to this role, delivering a seasoned take on the hunter.
In the comics, Kraven has extended his life and is currently immortal. Sony could explore the villain's past through a variety of decades, revealing the prejudices he faced which helped turn him into an unrepentant monster who didn't feel he was doing the wrong thing by targeting Spider-Man.
Elba could steal the show and make this classic bad guy someone fans would take seriously.
3. Pedro Pascal
The Mandalorian's lead, and now the face of HBO's The Last of Us series, Pedro Pascal's star is on the rise. Game of Thrones and Narcos are now a distant memory, though his work there was excellent, and he was a highlight in Wonder Woman 1984.
Kraven would be another very different role, and while Pascal might not be as physically imposing as some of the other actors on this list, he could easily be a leaner, faster Kraven who is just as formidable.
In Ultimate Spider-Man, Kraven was a regular guy who tampered with his DNA to become more animalistic. Perhaps Sony could take the villain down that route, delivering a Kraven who is quite a bit different to his comic book counterpart, but actually has superpowers.
2. Joe Manganiello
Joe Manganiello is another fan-favorite pick for Kraven the Hunter, and while he'll get another shot at Deathstroke in Zack Snyder's Justice League, that's probably as far as it will go.
The actor is an intimidating dude, and a great fit for the Spider-Man villain when it comes to his physique. He's a pretty consistent talent, and just needs a big role like this to show up what he can do.
Plus, if Slade Wilson is off the table, then Kraven is arguably the next best thing!
We'd love Manganiello to be given the chance to show what he can do, and it would be pretty fun for him to one day face Spider-Man as Kraven. Why? Well, he played bully Flash Thompson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man all the way back in 2002!
1. Joel Kinnaman
Last year, it was claimed that Sony was on the hunt for a "Joel Kinnaman-type" to play Kraven the Hunter... so why not just cast Joel Kinnaman?
The actor delivered killer performances in Suicide Squad and Altered Carbon, but has plenty of other great roles to his name. As Kraven, however, he could really put his stamp on a character and establish himself as true leading man material in Hollywood.
Kinnaman makes for a compelling presence on screen, and is tough as nails to boot.
While he will return in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, his role is small enough that he could quite easily join the Marvel Universe as Kraven.