Aaron Taylor-Johnson Addresses 'Kraven the Hunter,' Getting In Shape & Alludes to Superhero Fatigue
Aaron Taylor-Johnson opened up about his new superhero project Kraven the Hunter.
The 33-year-old star will play the titular antihero in the new Sony project, which premieres in late 2024.
During a recent interview, Aaron reflected on everything from getting in shape for the role, a process that involved putting on a lot of muscle, to what convinced him to accept the part.
He even seemingly alluded to the phenomenon that’s come to be known as superhero fatigue, which has been blamed for poor showings by movies such as Madame Web.
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Speaking to Rolling Stone UK, Aaron explained that he was drawn to the character or he would not have taken the role.
“I think there was something unique about this character, and something grounded. 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,” he said. “I wouldn’t have signed onto it if I felt there wasn’t something to really bring to life with this character.”
Of course, accepting the role came with specific challenges: “Taking on a Sony / Marvel movie is a different challenge altogether. There’s the story, the character, the role; that’s one thing. But then you also step into a world where you’re dealing with a studio and a franchise — or possible franchises, though let’s not get ahead of ourselves. So, they’re rolling the dice on me, in a sense, which is a lovely thing. But you’ve got to appease the studio, please the audience and do what’s dignified for you as an actor. I find all of that super challenging.”
One element for the movie was getting into superhuman shape. Aaron said that he “trained to the point where I was 200 pounds of muscle.”
“I wanted to approach it like an actor, and I’m not someone who’s just juicing up and going to the gym,” he recalled, adding that he “ate so much f-cking food.”
Aaron even weighed in on the movie’s R rating, admitting that the character has a gruesome history. However, he didn’t think that it would limit fans.
“But then, a lot of the people who grew up with Marvel are old enough now to watch an R-rated movie,” he said.
The actor also weighed in on “public derision” over his marriage to Sam Taylor-Johnson.