Russell Crowe has been cast alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff movie Kraven the Hunter from director J.C. Chandor. Sony is further expanding its separate Spider-Man universe after the success of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

More news continues to come out involving this universe as we approach the eventual release of Morbius, starring Jared Leto as Marvel’s famous vampire. In addition, news also broke that Dakota Johnson would be playing the lead role in a Madame Web film, directed by S.J. Clarkson. Crowe is the latest addition to the universe and will be joining Taylor-Johnson, who was previously cast as Kraven the Hunter.

Crowe may be best known for his award-worthy performances in films like Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind. However, superhero movie fans will know him from his role as Jor-El in Man of Steel. He is also set to debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder. This casting is also a return to a superhero franchise for Taylor-Johnson, who previously played Quicksilver in Avengers: Age of Ultron.

Crowe Will Reportedly Play One of Kraven's Relatives

While Crowe’s character in Kraven the Hunter is still under wraps, he is reportedly going to be playing one of Kraven’s relatives, according to Screen Rant. Kraven is a character that Spider-Man fans have been waiting to see in live-action for a long time, and it will be interesting to dive even further into the history of the character. He is a fan-favorite villain with a long history with Spider-Man in the comics. Taylor-Johnson signed a multi-picture deal with Sony, so Kraven will most likely be appearing more than once.

Sony is currently on top of the box office mountain after the release of No Way Home. Fans are still clamoring for more Spider-Man content, and they will be getting it soon. In addition to Sony’s live-action Spider-Man universe, Sony will also be releasing Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse: Part 1 in 2022. The studio is currently gearing up for the release of Uncharted, which also stars Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland.

Art Marcum, Matt Halloway, and Richard Wenk penned the script for the Kraven the Hunter film. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will be serving as producers. The superhero flick is currently scheduled to be released on January 13, 2023. While we are less than a year away, Crowe is the first casting announcement besides Taylor-Johnson, so more details will be announced as we approach the release date.