Action movies have always been a tried and true genre in the film industry. This trend has only increased in recent years thanks to the various superhero properties currently competing for box office supremacy. Plus there’s the 007 franchise, with Daniel Craig’s tenure as Bond coming to an end with No Time to Die. Actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a popular choice by fans to replace Craig, and there have been rumors about him taking on the role for years. Taylor-Johnson recently responded to those rumors, while also saying he “didn’t really care for” his role in Avengers and other franchises.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson made his MCU debut as Pietro Maximoff in Avengers: Age of Ultron, with his character dying to save Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye. While fans have hoped he'd return to that role, it still hasn’t happened. In fact, Evan Peters played a fake Pietro in WandaVision. Taylor-Johnson is returning to the superhero genre as the title character of Kraven the Hunter, which he’s seemingly way more invested in. The 33 year-old actor recently spoke to Esquire about this career, where he got honest about some of this previous genre work. In his words:
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.
Well, that was honest. While some actors would kill for a role in a blockbuster movie, that wasn’t necessarily how Aaron Taylor-Jonhsnon felt at the time. Although he did explain more about these complicated feelings. What’s more, he seems thrilled to be bringing Kraven to life in live-action for the first time.
Per his conversation with Esquire, the Kick-Ass actor was getting a ton of offers for roles in blockbusters, which would require a ton of time to film. It was the time away from his family that discouraged him from taking on more of these roles. As he put it,
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. I would say I was probably not ready to be in that position anyway—it was too early. But yeah, I also slightly didn’t give a fuck.
Talk about a unique attitude. While some movie stars can get caught up in their on fame and starpower, Aaron Taylor-Joy simply didn’t give any fucks. But that’s not the case given his upcoming Marvel movie, which technically isn’t in the main MCU.
Of course, there’s plenty of fan who want to see ATJ suit up as the next James Bond. There have been rumors about him as 007 for a long time, and they’ll likely continue until a new one is found. When pressed about this fan casting by Esquire, Aaron Taylor-Joy said:
I've spent two years making Kraven. So all that hard work we put into trying to get that to where it is—that's where I'm at right now. I just focus on the things I can have in my hands right now. What's in front of me right now.
What a cryptic way of sidestepping the question. Taylor-Johnson didn’t deny interest in playing James Bond sometime in the future. Instead he shared just how much work he put into Kraven the Hunter. We’ll just have to see if that superhero flick ends up being a bonafide franchise in the future. As a reminder, you can see the Kraven trailer here.
It’s unclear when a new 007 will be crowned, but the powers that be at Eon are likely already in that process. Finding James Bond will be the first step into the next stage of the franchise, following Daniel Craig’s acclaimed tenure in the role. Fingers crossed we get news sooner rather than later.
Kraven the Hunter is expected to arrive in theaters on August 30th, 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movies release dates to plan your next movie experience.
