The breath-taking Keanu Reeves has reportedly been offered the role of Kraven the Hunter by Sony. The Illuminerdi recently claimed that Sony wants him to play the Spider-Man villain in J.C. Chandor’s upcoming film. Now, the ball is in his court, and he has to decide whether he needs to knock it out of the park or let it go. Well, most fans did like the idea of him playing the part, but some weren’t convinced. Despite their love for the actor, they preferred others to take on the part.
Well, Keanu Reeves is quite the busy man himself. He is done with the production of The Matrix 4, but he is supposed to begin filming John Wick 4 and 5 back-to-back. Now that will take a good chunk of his time this year. So, unless Sony is planning to release Kraven in late 2022 or 2023, Reeves’ schedule may not allow him to be a part of the film. It’s highly likely that he will turn the role down. In fact, scooper Skyler Shuler of TheDisInsider claimed that Reeves had already passed on the gig months ago. That means, Sony will have to pick someone else for the part. And here are the top 10 actors who could be great as Kraven the Hunter:
Joel Kinnaman
Last year, Charles Murphy reported that Marvel and Sony were after a Joel Kinnaman-type for a specific role in Spider-Man 3. He wrote:
“It appears that Marvel Studios is looking for a Joel Kinnaman-type for an unspecified role in the upcoming Untitled Spider-Man Sequel. Given all the rumors and speculation around what Spidey 3 will likely be about and what villains we are likely to see in it, it’s incredibly easy to make yourself believe that the studio wants this Kinnaman-type for a major role and one that fans are dying to see… Kraven… and I’ll be damned if Kinnaman isn’t perfect for it.”
Having seen Kinnaman in projects like Suicide Squad, Altered Carbon, and many others, I believe that he could pull off a great Kraven. But if Sony was looking to sign him on way back in 2020, then they already would have. So, it seems that the actor and Sony have moved on.
Karl Urban
The Boys finally gave him the role he deserved to play. The MCU brought him in for a mediocre role like Skurge, and they didn’t use his true potential. He was absolutely stunning as Judge Dredd, but things didn’t pan out for him after the first movie. As soon as we got the Keanu Reeves announcement for Kraven, Twitter erupted with people wanting Karl Urban for the part instead. Well, I’d say that he would surely be a great choice for Kraven. But it’ll be interesting to see if his filming schedule of The Boys will allow him to play Kraven.
Joe Manganiello
His future as Deathstroke is quite uncertain. He may not get to play Flash Thompson / Agent Venom from Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Universe. So, Sony could surely bring him in as Kraven the Hunter. He is a total bad-ass and it’s time that the industry realizes that. I’d personally love it if he plays Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff.
Luke Evans
Here’s yet another actor who is quite underappreciated. People have fan-cast him as Namor the Submariner for the MCU, but it seems that Tenoch Huerta has got the part. So, what if he ends up playing Kraven the Hunter instead? The Kraven gig might finally allow him to enter the A-List category of actors in the industry.
Charlie Hunnam
Hunnam has been knocking on the doors of multiple superhero roles. It has been quite a while since Sons of Anarchy ended. Ever since then, things haven’t been so great for him. King Arthur bombed. Pacific Rim and Triple Frontier didn’t do him any good. People have been fan-casting him as Green Arrow for ages but there has been no movement on that. So, I believe that Sony should consider him as a formidable Spider-Man villain. Kraven the Hunter might really change things around for Hunnam.
Idris Elba
The former Heimdall actor has been doing remarkably well in his career. He played Brixton in Hobbs & Shaw and the viewers loved him. Now he is coming in as Bloodsport in The Suicide Squad. But what if he joins the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters as Kraven? Just imagine if Kraven ends up meeting Thor through the Multiverse. The look on Thor’s face will be quite interesting to witness. Elba certainly has what it takes to play Kraven. But with his busy schedule, he may not get to play the part.
Jason Momoa
People have been wanting the Aquaman actor as Kraven forever. He has the physique, the animalistic persona, and the acting chops for the role. He’s a total beast! It’s great that Snyder used all those qualities to give us a majestic Aquaman. But, Momoa could play an amazing Kraven the Hunter with those qualities. So, I’d be all in if Sony were to bag Momoa for the part.
Henry Cavill
His mustache may have ruined Justice League, but it worked insanely well for Mission: Impossible – Fallout. And, we’re happy that Snyder is restoring his original vision for Justice League. So ultimately, it’s a win-win scenario for everyone. But Warner Bros. is still quite iffy to use Cavill as Superman. He might need another major role besides the Witcher. And keeping that bad-ass mustache persona in mind, I’d say that Henry Cavill could really deliver on the part of Kraven.
Travis Fimmel
Ever since Vikings, Fimmel hasn’t been bagged a character as legendary as Ragnar Lothbrook. He led HBO Max’s Raised by Wolves, but it’s just sad that the series didn’t get the amount of traction that it should have. So, Fimmel should look at one of the gigs in the superhero genre. I’d say that Kraven the Hunter could be the right part for him.
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Warner Bros. has totally wasted several amazing setups that came from Zack Snyder’s DCEU vision. One of those setups was Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing Thomas Wayne / Batman in the Flashpoint movie. But, none of that is happening. Still, Morgan has been doing a heck of a job as Negan on The Walking Dead. Negan is a great example of the fact that Morgan could totally play this old, bad-ass version of Kraven who is on his last hunt.
Honorable Mentions
– Kristofer Hivju
– Sharlto Copley
– Scott Adkins
– Gerard Butler
I also wanted to add Pedro Pascal to this list since he is on a roll! But he has already been cast as Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us series. So, managing Kraven, Joel, and Mando at the same time would have been tough. Anyway, I’d like to know your thoughts on this list of actors for Kraven. Tell us what you think in the comments section.
