‘Kraven the Hunter' Star Aaron Taylor-Johnson Says He's “Had Enough" of Studios “Churning Out Stuff That Dilutes Cinema"

Aaron Taylor Johnson, of all people, is rallying against Hollywood in a new interview, via Rolling Stone. It’s kind of strange that he’s doing that given his recent films.

Taylor-Johnson stars in the upcoming Sony/Marvel mashup “Kraven the Hunter,” so it’s puzzling to hear him slam Hollywood for rushing out mediocre IP content when he, in fact, stars in one those movies!

We’ve all had enough of seeing certain studio films, a certain kind of pop culture… where they’re churning out stuff that dilutes wanting to go to the cinema. I wouldn’t have signed onto it if I felt there wasn’t something to really bring to life with this character.

Okay, Mr. Scorsese. But, in all seriousness, this is the same guy who decided to hop on board Sony’s ‘Kraven, the studio responsible for “Morbius” and “Madame Web.” In that same interview, Taylor-Johnson tries to explain why he decided to take on ‘Kraven’:

I think there was something unique about this character, and something grounded […] I wouldn’t have signed onto it if I felt there wasn’t something to really bring to life with this character.

Let’s just, for a moment, pretend that ‘Kraven’ doesn’t exist in Taylor-Johnson’s filmography — what has he exactly done of late that merits these comments to be said? “The King’s Man,” “Avengers: Ultron,” “Godzilla,” “Kick-Ass 2” .. At least he’s in Robert Eggers’ upcoming “Nosferatu.”

Also, it’s only being rumored, and Barbara Broccoli did deny it, but Taylor-Johnson is vying to be the next James Bond, one of the biggest IP franchises in the movie industry. Whether he gets the gig or not remains to be seen, but he hasn’t been shy in his interest in taking on the role of 007.

I sure hope “Kraven the Hunter” delivers the goods. At least it’s directed by the talented J.C. Chandor, but the trailer was largely mocked online in the same way “Madame Web” was. Even worse, ‘Kraven’ is being theatrically released during the waning days of the summer movie season, August 30, 2024, with an R-rating, and not much buzz going for it.

Taylor-Johnson recently admitted in an interview that, in preparation for his ‘Kraven’ role, he studied the life and art of late wildlife photographer Peter Beard and actually stalked a deer. He’s going full method on this one.