Russell Crowe Is Joining The Next Spider-Man Spin-Off As… Maybe Some Sort Of Dad Or An Estranged Uncle?

Things are starting to move quickly in the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. Following Dakota Johnson‘s casting as the lead in Madame Web, Russell Crowe is joining Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the classic Spider-Man villain. While Crowe’s role, as well as the film’s plot, is being kept under wraps, the main characters are “said to be Kraven’s family members,” according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Kraven, who is one of Spider-Man’s best-known enemies, made his comic debut all the way back in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 15, with the character created by Spider-Man co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The Russian big-game hunter decided to target the most dangerous foe he could imagine: Spider-Man. During his long tenure in the comics, Kraven is known for appearing in the classic 1980s storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” in which the villain succeeded in defeating Spider-Man, burying him alive, and assuming his identity.

Crowe’s casting marks a continued demarcation between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. The two were believed to be finally merging in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that film’s end credits scene made it surprisingly clear that the film worlds would remain separate (for now). However, that decision allows Crowe to play Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, and now, one of Kraven’s hunting obsessed relatives in yet another film about a Spider-Man villain that won’t have Spider-Man in it. Tom Holland can only be so many places at once, people.