Aaron Taylor-Johnson may be taking on the lead role in Kraven the Hunter, the latest movie from Sony's Spider-Man universe (joining the likes of Venom and Morbius), but the actor hasn't always been fond of franchises. Kraven won't be his first time starring in a Marvel property, but the difference between this and the Avengers is, reportedly, that he "slightly didn't give a fuck" about the latter.
"There was Kick-Ass, and then there was Godzilla and Avengers, and all those things lined up for me. But I didn’t really care for them," he told Esquire, in a new interview, recalling that he was up for roles "that nobody knows about – big, huge franchises that were in play."
Superhero satire Kick-Ass was Taylor-Johnson's breakthrough role in 2010, and he went on to play a US navy officer in 2014's Godzilla and Pietro Maximoff, the twin brother of Elizabeth Olson's Wanda (AKA Scarlet Witch) in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron.
Having children put a stop to that trajectory into blockbuster territory, though. "I wanted, purely, to be with my babies. I didn’t want to be taken away from them. I battled with what that would be like."
He added: "I would say I was probably not ready to be in that position anyway – it was too early," he added. "But yeah, I also slightly didn’t give a fuck."
After a 10-month delay due to the ongoing actors' strike, Kraven the Hunter is now set to hit the big screen on August 30, 2024. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the most exciting upcoming movies on the way, this year and beyond.
