Kraven the Hunter Movie: Fred Hechinger Joins Cast, Reportedly Playing Chameleon

Fred Hechinger, star of HBO’s The White Lotus, has been cast in the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film, rumored to play the titular anti-hero’s brother Chameleon, Deadline reports.

Hechinger is also known for his roles in Netflix’s The Woman in the Window, Tom Hanks’ News of the World, and a recurring star role in Fear Street. He’s currently starring in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy as infamous pornographer Seth Warshavsky, and the upcoming Pale Blue Eye, starring Christian Bale.

More specifically, Chameleon (real name Dmitiri Smerdyakov) is the illegitimate half-brother of Kraven, and regarded as a master of disguise, capable of impersonating anyone. In Marvel comics lore, Chameleon has impersonated the likes of Captain America, Bruce Banner, Spider-Man, and other major heroes. Hechinger joins Aaron Taylor Johnson as the titular Kraven, whom Chameleon has a tortured relationship with thanks to a history of familial abuse.

Kraven the Hunter releases in theaters on January 13, 2023 as part of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, alongside the Venom franchise and Jared Leto’s Morbius. It’s being directed by J.C. Chandor (Triple Frontier, A Most Violent Year) with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway (Iron Man, Uncharted) and Richard Wenk (Lethal Weapon 5, The Equalizer) writing.

You can read our explainer of Kraven the Hunter’s history and rivalry with Spider-Man here, if you’re curious why the genetically superpowered Russian is one of the few baddies to send Spider-Man to an early grave. You can also check out how Spider-Man: No Way Home was almost a Kraven movie if the multiverse idea didn’t pan out.

(Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/master of disguise for IGN.