The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger has reportedly joined Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Russell Crowe in Sony’s Kraven the Hunter movie. One of several planned installments in Sony’s Spider-Man Shared Universe, Deadline reveals that Fred Hechinger will star in Kraven the Hunter as another of the web-slinger’s villains, The Chameleon.

For those unfamiliar with The Chameleon, the Marvel villain was born Dmitri Nikolaievich Smerdyakov and is the half-brother of Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kraven the Hunter. Thus, the character should fit into the Kraven movie rather nicely. The Chameleon is a master of disguise, as well as a brilliant method actor and impressionist, able to appear as anyone he pleases. While the character initially had no superpowers and was simply able to disguise himself using practical methods, this was later changed to his skin being surgically and mutagenically altered by a serum so that he could take on the appearance of any person at will.

Fred Hechinger, meanwhile, is a young up-and-comer, with roles in the likes of The White Lotus, Pam & Tommy, and the Netflix Fear Street trilogy putting him in the sights of Sony and thus bringing him into the hugely popular world of comic book movies.

Specific plot details for Kraven the Hunter are mainly unknown, but it is expected that the movie will tell the origin story of the beloved supervillain in much the same way as Venom and Morbius before it. Therefore, Kraven the Hunter is expected to follow the exploits of the Marvel character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko for The Amazing Spider-Man #15 back in 1964.

Born Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven was raised in Russia during the time of the Russian Revolution. After finding employment in Kenya, Africa, Kraven began his career using the typical tools of the hunter but over time developed a preference to take down large animals with his bare hands. After meeting a Voodoo witch doctor named Calypso, Kravinoff is given a herbal potion that enhances his strength, speed, and senses, as well as extending his life. Eventually, Kraven tires of big game hunting and is drawn to Spider-Man, slowly becoming obsessed with being the man to catch the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler.

Is Sony Building Toward The Sinister Six?

sinister-six
Marvel Comics

With The Chameleon now in tow alongside Kraven the Hunter, Morbius, and Venom, is looking increasingly likely that Sony is building towards some semblance of The Sinister Six. A project that the studio has wanted to bring to the big screen for some time, Morbius star Jared Leto has playfully teased the possibility while discussing his standalone outing.

“In the film version of Morbius that we’re bringing to you now, he’s also a part of a much larger universe,” Leto explained. “If you’ve seen the last Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer, you know the Multiverse has officially opened, and there’s all kinds of opportunities for villains to meet up, thrive, and maybe even nurture their more sinister intents. That’s all I’m gonna say for right now.”

Directed by J. C. Chandor (A Most Violent Year, Triple Frontier) with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway rewriting a script that was previously commissioned by Richard Wenk, Kraven the Hunter is scheduled to be released on January 13, 2023.