Will Aaron Taylor-Johnson become the face of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe as Kraven The Hunter trailer leaks?

He certainly is no stranger to playing the lead in comic book adaptations, which Kick Ass and its sequel demonstrated turning Aaron Taylor-Johnson into a household name. But is he set to become one of the flagship names pinned to Sony’s attempt at the Marvel Cinematic Universe, known as Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) as footage from Cinemacon has leaked showing the trailer for Kraven The Hunter?

The trailer, currently making the rounds on YouTube before the eventual DMCA takedown from Warner Discovery and the DCEU, shows Johnson portraying the Marvel character, rising from a mild-mannered conservationist into protector of the the natural world, along with an appearance of Rhino, set to be one of the protagonists of the piece. Fred Hechinger, who will be a familiar name to fans’ of HBO’s The White Lotus series, is set to play Kraven’s brother Chameleon, a master of disguise, and Ariana DeBose as Calypso, A voodoo priestess and Kraven's love interest.

The Sony Spider-Man Universe is in need of a new leading face, after Tom Holland was snapped up by Marvel Studios to appear as Spider-Man in the MCU’s next exploits involving Peter Parker. While Tom Hardy is considered one of the faces of the SSU, thanks to his role as Eddie Brock in both Venom films, there is somewhat of a void in terms of a secondary superhero for the Universe, after Jared Leto’s attempt with Morbius became another online meme for the actor - and poor critical response to add salt to the wounds.

With Aaron Taylor-Johnson playing Sergi Kravinoff, the big game hunter who made his debut in the Marvel universe appearing in issue #15 of The Amazing Spider-Man comic books, could Sony finally have another pillar to build their comic book universe around? Originally a super-villain pitted against Spider-Man and one that has been known to push the webslinger to the limits, will Taylor-Johnson’s take on the character be one of a virtuous conservationist or an anti-heroic lover of animals?

We’ll have to wait until the end of the year, with Kraven The Hunter originally slated for release in January of this year, reshoots have meant that the release date in the United States was bumped to October 2023; that also led to other films within the universe to be pushed back, with Madame Web now set for a February 2024 release, featuring Sydney Sweeney and Dakota Johnson, and El Muerto a month beforehand - which will see Bad Bunny in one of his first lead roles since conquering the music world throughout 2022.