Sony's Kraven The Hunter Just Cast A Major Marvel Character

The next Marvel character to get the Sony Pictures film treatment — following the likes of Morbius, Venom and, of course, Spider-Man — will be Kraven the Hunter. In the comics, Sergei Kravinoff, aka Kraven the Hunter, is a big-game hunter whose primary goal is to defeat Spider-Man, making him a major antagonist to the hero.

News of the film began making headlines in May of 2021 when it was announced that "Kick-Ass" and "Anna Karenina" actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson would be playing the titular character in "Kraven the Hunter," as reported by Deadline. The film will be directed by J.C. Chandor ("A Most Violent Year") with a screenplay by screenwriting duo Art Marcum and Matt Holloway ("Iron Man," "Uncharted"), alongside Richard Wenk ("The Equalizer").

Following the announcement that Taylor-Johnson would play Kraven the Hunter, more exciting casting news began flowing in, giving fans more of a glimpse into what to expect with the upcoming film. Other announced cast members include Russel Crowe in a currently unknown role, "The White Lotus" scene-stealer Fred Hechinger as Kraven's brother Chameleon and "West Side Story" breakout star Ariana DeBose as Calypso, the voodoo priestess and sometimes lover to Kraven. Additionally, just a few days ago, it was announced that "The Many Saints of Newark" star Alessandro Nivola would also be joining the cast as a currently unknown villain (via Deadline).

Now, we have another announcement, as the film's cast continues to get fuller and fuller — here's the major character that was just cast.

As reported by Deadline, Christopher Abbott has been cast in "Kraven the Hunter." Deadline notes that, while it isn't officially confirmed by Sony Pictures, sources have revealed that Abbott will play The Foreigner, who is the main villain of the film. In the comics, Foreigner, highly skilled in martial arts, is a mercenary and an assassin who is a major opponent of Spider-Man's.

Abbott has been working as an actor since 2009, according to his IMDb page, when he appeared in one episode of "Nurse Jackie." He had his breakout role in 2012 with his starring role in Lena Dunham's HBO comedy drama "Girls," where he spent two seasons playing Charlie, the on and off boyfriend of Marnie (Allison Williams). Around that same time, Abbott began appearing in various films, such as 2012's "Hello I Must Be Going," 2014's "A Most Violent Year" and 2015's "James White," the latter of which he starred as the titular role. In 2017, he played a major character in the first season of "The Sinner" alongside Jessica Biel.

Abbott had another breakout career moment when he starred as Yossarian in the Hulu series "Catch-22" based on the famous novel by Joseph Heller — the performance earned him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a miniseries or television movie. Most recently, he has starred in films such as 2020's "Possessor," 2020's "The World to Come" and 2021's "The Forgiven." Alongside "Kraven the Hunter," Abbott will next be seen in a string of upcoming films, including "Sanctuary" and "The Favourite" director Yorgos Lanthimos' "Poor Things."

"Kraven the Hunter" will premiere on January 13, 2023.