Sony continues to expand its cinematic universe with an upcoming live-action debut of Kraven the Hunter. The titular antagonist is an iconic Spider-Man villain and will serve as the second major addition to Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Unfortunately, since announcing that Aaron Taylor-Johnson had signed on for the lead role with A Most Violent Year's J.C. Chandor as the director back in 2018, Sony hasn't confirmed anything new - until now.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the award-winning actor, Russel Crowe, has joined the cast of Kraven the Hunter.
Unfortunately, there's no information about Crowe's potential role in the spin-off just yet. However, the publication did mention that "many of the main characters are said to be Kraven's family members." It would make sense to cast Crowe as Nikolai Kravinoff, the father of Sergei Kravinoff, Kraven the Hunter's real name, but Crowe could play an entirely different role as well.
Having said that, Crowe will now appear in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony's Spider-Verse in consecutive years. The 57-year-old actor is also a part of Thor: Love and Thunder, which will premiere on July 8. Although his role in the Chris Hemsworth-led MCU feature film isn't confirmed yet, Crowe teased his potential role as Zeus, the leader of the Olympian gods in the comic books.