Summary

• Aaron Taylor-Johnson brings unmatched energy and comic timing to his roles, showcasing diverse talent in action, horror, and superhero genres.
• In The Fall Guy, Johnson's performance as an unhinged action star highlights his ability to fully commit to offbeat characters with satirical precision.
• Johnson's portrayal of Kraven the Hunter promises a savage level of energy and an animalistic approach to action that will challenge conventions in Sony's Spider-Man Universe.

Since hitting it big after 2010's Kick-Ass, Aaron Taylor-Johnson has showcased a wide range of talent across a series of diverse roles. He can be the solid everyday hero, as seen in 2014's Godzilla; he can be bone-chillingly frightening, as seen in 2016's Nocturnal Animals, and he can hold his own in a superhero franchise (Avengers: Age of Ultron). He's in an interesting position where he could be a typical movie star or a go-to character actor, which isn't all that common for someone with the looks and rumors attached to being the next James Bond.

What he displays in the recently released The Fall Guy is not only an on-point sense of comic timing but also an unchecked energy level. As actor Tom Ryder, despite playing a parody of an action star, Johnson has a bit of an unhinged level of tenacity that he brings to the character. It's something that should have fans excited about his next big role, as it's this unchecked energy that he will likely bring on a savage level for Kraven the Hunter.

Aaron Taylor Johnson Leaves an Impression in a Small Role

In The Fall Guy, Johnson's Tom Ryder is a Hollywood action star who claims to do all his stunts, only for the audience to quickly know that his stuntman, Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling), takes all the hard hits. As the film progresses, Tom goes AWOL under mysterious circumstances, and it's revealed that Tom has done something stupid that an over-eager producer (Hannah Waddingham) is trying to cover up.

Johnson is only in a handful of scenes, but his appearances are memorable, particularly one scene that depicts him going a bit too wild at a hotel party gone wrong. It's a very satirical performance, poking fun at Hollywood types that wouldn't dream of coming close to danger, but it's another example of how the actor is always 100 percent committed to a role. From the absurdity of his ego to his physicality in the role to the chaotic yet suave nature of his performance, Johnson will likely flip this in a way when we see him portray Kraven the Hunter, aka Sergei Kravinoff.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson Brings an Offbeat Energy to The Fall Guy

Johnson tends to shine the most when he's playing offbeat characters. In The Fall Guy, he's playing a parody of a masculine action star, and even though he's poking fun at the concept, it also shows how good at the actual role he can be. He's already shown this before in another David Leitch-directed effort, Bullet Train, where he played a less-than-competent assassin. It's Leitch's subversive casting in that film and The Fall Guy that works.

The best thing about parody is that it's hard to make fun of something if you don't have knowledge of what you're making fun of, so even though Johnson has to pretend like he doesn't know what he's doing in The Fall Guy, it's apparent that he will have the necessary skills to do the wall-to-wall action in Kraven the Hunter. Hell, Sony set out to cast Johnson after seeing early footage of the actor in Bullet Train, so they knew exactly what kind of energy he could bring to the role.

In his own way, Kraven is also offbeat. There's a reason why he's one of Spider-Man's most formidable foes in the comic books because he's skilled as a big-game hunter, with Spider-Man being "the most dangerous game," but he's also a complicated personality. He's not a true villain in the classical sense. He's not out for world domination or seeking to bend civilization to his will. His goal in defeating Spider-Man is to prove that he's the greatest hunter in the world. In the comics, he doesn't like to use guns or bow and arrows, as he shows considerable disdain for them. He'd rather subdue his prey with his bare hands because he lives by an honor and code where he wants to hunt fairly.

Whether or not the film taps into Kraven's sense of honor remains to be seen, but from what we have seen from the trailer is that Johnson displays an animalistic approach to some of the action showcased in the preview, which makes it clear he has tapped into Kraven's skill as a true hunter. The actor's physicality should not be questioned because not only does he look like an action specimen, but it also looks like he put in the work to back it up. Oddly enough, Johnson also looks like the action physical specimen in The Fall Guy but has to play up not having the skills. In Kraven the Hunter, he'll be able to show that he was in on the joke, and now he's here to play.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson Has Already Shown Animalistic Energy

What will be even more impressive to see is Johnson bringing some of this untapped energy to the first R-rated film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe. In the very first trailer, the audience gets a sense of Kraven's bloody hunting skills as he's seen skewering bad guys with crossbows and even getting to bite off someone's nose. The trailer goes a long way to show that this won't be the signature action we have seen in many recent comic book movies.

Even though this is only a brief look at what Johnson can do in the role, it's apparent that he has a no-holds-barred approach to portraying the animal within Kraven. This requires an actor who lacks vanity and isn't afraid to do anything on camera. This is why it's crucial that he has the movie star sensibility to play an action role of this level and the character actor's skill to find less-than-desirable meaning in why he's doing the things that he does.

It comes down to flipping expectations. On the surface, Johnson's role in The Fall Guy doesn't appear to be much prep for what he would have to do in Kraven the Hunter, but it is. Tom Ryder is not a normal guy. He's played up for laughs, and Johnson throws himself into the character completely without any sense of embarrassment. He has the knowledge to know that he has to play this character to the limit because the joke won't work.

Bringing a similar energy to Kraven the Hunter is essential. He has to be 100 percent committed to Kraven's motivations, his thirst for the hunt, and his desire to take down his prey. If that energy isn't on display, the portrayal won't work. Thankfully, an actor of Johnson's caliber indicates he's more than capable of giving fans a take of Kraven they deserve. Kraven the Hunter is heading to theaters on Dec. 13, 2024.