Sony Pictures' long-awaited dream of building a Spiderverse, a connected universe centered around Spider-Man and his nemesis and associated characters, is finally coming around. Well, maybe not exactly in the manner the studio thought, but the audience is loving the adjunct MCU connection to this new franchise, now officially dubbed Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. Starting with Venom, the series is now going to expand to Morbius, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and the newly announced Kraven the Hunter. While the former two are complete and are in final stages of post-production, the third one will begin filming shortly, eyeing for an early 2023 release. And now we may now who the main villain is.

Earlier in May, Aaron Taylor-Johnson was confirmed to play the eponymous character in the film, with J.C. Chandor taking on directorial duties. Though any further details are mostly under wraps, it is being reported that Kraven's arch nemesis in the film will be none other than the Marvel comics villain, Chameleon.

Chameleon, alias Dimitri Smerdyakov is a master of disguise, and has appeared in several media adaptations of Marvel Comics. His abilities include virtually taking on the identities of anyone he lays his eyes on and infiltrating several organizations to execute his villainous schemes, wreaking havoc on his adversaries. Chameleon has also been a part of the villainous organization Sinister Six, the version formed by Doctor Octopus. Furthermore, he was also affiliated with Sinister Twelve, a bigger incarnation of the team formed by Green Goblin in the comics.

But, having Chameleon taking on Kraven in the film adaptation would be bigger than having two foes collide. Dimitri, besides being a Marvel villain, also shares a connection with Kraven. He is Kraven's alias, Sergei Kravinoff's half-brother. In the comics, both brothers have been depicted as friends-turned-enemies. The two brothers coming face-to-face with each other would not just open up limitless possibilities for the franchise and its MCU connection to expand, but would also heighten audiences' expectations.

Earlier, it was speculated that the character would appear alongside Mysterio in the MCU movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, played by Numan Acar. Acar played Dimitri, an associate of Nick Fury, who was actually Talos in disguise. The version was never formally officiated as Chameleon, but was speculated to be a Skrull due to his association with Talos. In the film, Dimitri was subtly able to blend in all scenarios, even as Peter's bus's driver. The character was probably meant to be a tease to the original Chameleon from the comics. If Chameleon is really going to appear in Kraven The Hunter, then we'd finally see the real master of disguise in action, taking on Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kraven.

There are several questions concerning Kraven The Hunter and the film's connection to Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters as well as to the MCU. Taylor-Johnson has previously portrayed Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver in the MCU. On the other hand, Michael Keaton's (who also played Adrian Toomes/Vulture) mysterious appearance in Morbius's trailer has led to theories about the connection between the two franchises. Possibly, things will get clearer in Spider-Man: No Way Home, which is reported to play on the multiverse concept from the comics. How everything will pan out in the ever-growing "universes" of live-action Marvel adaptations is yet to be unraveled, but it will surely bring Marvel's integrated franchise closer.

Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and directed by J.C Chandor, Kraven The Hunter will release on January 13th 2023. The film will be the fourth installment in Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters. This news came to us from The Illumenerdi.