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West Side Story breakout star Ariana DeBose looks to take the mantle of Calypso in the upcoming Sony Pictures Marvel film Kraven the Hunter. DeBose is fresh off her Oscar-nominated performance on Steven Spielberg's musical feature and looks to be directing her focus toward the Spider-Man cinematic universe as her next endeavor.
Kraven the Hunter will take place in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, which already includes Tom Hardy's Venom and Jared Leto's Morbius. Kraven the Hunter was ushered onto the scene in Marvel comic books as a pernicious antagonist to Spider-Man, driven by his need to solidify himself as the best hunter in the world, which pushed the character to ingest a serum, providing super strength and increased stamina abilities. Kraven became obsessed with the web-slinging hero because of the challenge he presented for the glorified hunter. The upcoming film, however, will follow the pattern of the previous Sony outings, centering its focus around the character's origin story.
Deadline reports DeBose will play the voodoo priestess Calypso, who exploits magic potions and plays the role of antagonist to Spider-Man. In addition, she is a sporadic partner and on-and-off lover of Kraven, which the film will likely explore as a component of the character's origin. The film's premise is relatively unknown, but it looks to present a humanized villain that the audiences will find equally intriguing and revolting. The picture should become clear as more elements surrounding the film fall into place, but the casting of DeBose highlights the addition of an added emotional component. It will be interesting to see how Sony handles the complicated relationship between the two characters.
The upcoming film will also star Oscar winner Russell Crowe, cast in an unspecified role. Crowe is best known for his award-winning performance in 2000's Gladiator, but the renowned star is no stranger to the superhero genre. He previously played the role of Jor-El in Zack Snyder's Man of Steel as the father to Superman and looks to progress into the MCU in Taika Waititi's upcoming film Thor: Love and Thunder. Along with Crowe, the forthcoming Kraven the Hunter film has also added The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger to play the role of Chameleon, who is a brother to the film's centerpiece character. More additions to the cast will surface, but the name's currently available spark some considerable intrigue.
The news of DeBose's addition is another component added to Sony's train of momentum, which exploded with the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home. The film is currently the third highest-grossing film domestically, creeping toward the $800 million milestone, which only two films have surpassed. Globally the film has earned an accumulated total of $1.8 billion, followed by the $500 million generated by Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Morbius looks to add more enthusiasm to the studio, which is still exuberant from the surprising performance of Uncharted, which has dominated the domestic box office the past two weekends. Along with Kraven the Hunter, the studio will also be developing a film centered around Madame Web and has cast Dakota Johnson for the leading role.
DeBose is projected to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work on Spielberg's West Side Story, having taken the honors at the SAG Awards this past weekend. Her addition to Kraven the Hunter is welcoming and adds star-power to a film that encompasses a figure most are unfamiliar with. Seeing DeBose and other familiar faces will attract audiences into the theaters, bridging the gap between those new to and familiar with Kraven's story. Sony has been riding high as of late, but it's too soon to speculate if the success will continue along its current path.
Kraven the Hunter looks to hit theaters on January 13, 2023.
Source: Deadline