Karl Urban Being Eyed To Play This Spider-Man Villain
Karl Urban is being eyed to play this fan favorite Spider-Man villain.
This article is more than 2 years old
Karl Urban is riding high in the world of fandom. He has been celebrated for his roles as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the Star Trek films, his extremely faithful take on Judge Joseph Dredd in Dredd, his honorable performance as Éomer in The Lord of the Rings, and his recent success as Billy Butcher in Amazon’s The Boys. Add to that a bunch of other well-received roles in genre cinema and there is no doubt that he is one of fandom’s favorite actors. And now, it looks like he might be getting a job opportunity thanks to this popularity.
Mikey Sutton of Geekoisty is reporting that Sony is eyeing Karl Urban for the role of Kraven the Hunter in an upcoming film that will be part of their Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC). Keanu Reeves had been rumored for the role but it appears that he decided to pass on the offer. When Reeves was being talked about, fans actually began to rally for Karl Urban in the role. Well, it looks like that rallying cry could end up factoring into the studio’s decision on whether or not to cast the actor in the part.
There is no doubt that Karl Urban could bring a lot of charisma and gravitas to the character of Sergei Kravinoff, but it would require a little bit of explaining since he has already played one significant character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Urban was cast as Skurge the Executioner in Thor: Ragnarok and delivered a truly memorable performance as he often does. Since that movie and the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters currently take place in the same work, would there be any acknowledgment that the actor had played two roles? Most likely, no. And with things getting very multiverse heavy in the Marvel canon right now, we are betting that most folks would not bat an eye at the double casting.
The other question we still have is whether or not Kraven the Hunter would be showing up in a Spider-Man movie or if the plan is still to give him his own solo film first. With Venom and Morbius setting the template for antihero-centric movies in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, could the same route be taken with Karl Urban as Kraven the Hunter? Supposedly, Sony really wants to have a Sinister Six movie act as their villainous counterpart to Marvel’s Avengers by building up solo movies that lead into a team-up film. We are guessing this would still be the plan with Kraven the Hunter as well.
We will simply have to wait and see whether or not Karl Urban ends up donning the costume of Kraven the Hunter. He seems like a perfect fit for the role, and if the studio can provide him with a good script and a solid filmmaker, we are more than happy to see him be the one to bring Sergei Kravinoff to the big screen for the first time.
