Aaron Taylor-Johnson Clarifies His Controversial Kraven Comments

Sony Pictures is no stranger to controversy with its Spider-Man Universe, which is something the studio is hoping to redeem itself for in the next couple of years. After mixed reactions to 2021's Venom: Let There Be Carnage and, frankly, an absolute train wreck of an experience with Morbius, the studio looks to change things with next year's Kraven the Hunter.

This movie has flown largely under the radar amongst its other Marvel counterparts, especially with its release date set to come in less than six months, although fans have gotten a taste of what's coming through limited set photos. However, star Aaron Taylor-Johnson recently started plenty of discussion ahead of the movie's release thanks to some interesting comments he made about his leading character.

Although Taylor-Johnson confirmed Kraven to be an antihero, he explained how the character is "an animal lover and protector of the natural world," leading many to believe that the movie is changing Kraven to drastic levels for his big screen debut. But after making those comments in June 2022, the actor has clarified his comments on who Sergei Kravinov really is in the grand scheme of things.

Kraven Star Clarifies Out of Context Comments

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During a chat with ComicBook.com, Kraven the Hunter star Aaron Taylor-Johnson explained what he actually meant by the comments he made about his leading character being "an animal lover."

Taylor-Johnson couldn't set any details into stone, but he admitted that his comments from June were "probably a little taken out of context" before they made their way online. While he confirmed that Kraven is still "from that world of hunting," he teased that part of this movie would be about "humanizing" him and showing that "he has flaws" as he learns about himself:

"I can't confirm any details or anything. And also, I guess that was probably a little taken out of context and then run. I mean, I think you know what I meant what really stated was that he was a protector of the natural world I said and he's a conservationist, which is probably more accurate, and then should have stopped there, full stop, shouldn't have gone on beyond that because, yeah I think you know you really got to understand, yeah, he is a hunter and from that world of hunting and there's so many aspects. What I love about that character is that what is he humanizing is that he has flaws, right? Kraven is a beautiful character. Sergei Kravinov is a beautiful character because it's someone who's really understanding themselves and has flaws. This is a character that was built ages ago and it's in a new time and era, but yeah, is he going to be the hunter that we all want to see? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely."

Kraven Going Full Hunter in Solo Movie

Without the use of the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man in the Sony Spider-Man Universe, Sony has largely focused on characters that lean towards the dark side of the moral compass. In the comics, Kraven usually pushes more towards that dark side than anybody else seen in Sony's superhero story thus far, which led to many fans being worried about Taylor-Johnson's previous comments.

Thankfully, the Kraven star made it clear that this solo movie will dive into how the character evolves as the hunter he is from the comics, even adding aspects to his development that will make him more human. With this movie presenting Kraven as its main character, it appears that Taylor-Johnson wants to make sure that he's explored as deeply as possible, almost similar to how Joaquin Phoenix's Joker was in his own DC solo movie.

Considering how Kraven's main quality is that he's passionate about the art of the hunt, this solo film should hopefully explore that idea as fully as possible.

Kraven the Hunter will premiere in theaters on January 13, 2023.