Russell Crowe Joins Spider-Man Spin-Off Film Kraven The Hunter

gamespot.com:

Actor and Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator, Zack Snyder's Justice League) has joined the cast of Marvel's Kraven the Hunter. Deadline was the first to report the new addition to the film's ensemble.

Crowe will join Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), who was earlier announced as joining the cast back in May 2021. Just as back then, not a whole lot is known about the film--the plot is still under wraps, and it was not announced who Crowe will be playing in the film. Fortunately, we should learn more relatively soon as Kraven the Hunter is currently scheduled to hit theaters on January 13, 2023.

The movie--once long-rumored--is one of many Spider-Man characters getting their own big-screen treatment in the growing Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. Other films in the growing universe include Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and the much-delayed Morbius film starring Jared Leto (which last month was at the last minute pushed back to April 1, 2022). A Madame Web movie or potentially series is also currently taking shape--actor Dakota Johnson (The Peanut Butter Falcon, The Social Network) is in consideration for the titular role.

Kraven the Hunter, born Sergei Kravinoff, is a big game hunter obsessed with Spider-Man. The character's most iconic story is 1987's Kraven's Last Hunt, in which he «killed» and buried Spider-Man and then impersonated the web-slinger for two weeks to prove that he was the superior hero. The story ended with Kraven leaving photographic proof of his time as Spider-Man for the police as a suicide note.

Kraven the Hunter is slated to hit theaters on January 13, 2023.