Aaron Taylor-Johnson says “Kraven the Hunter” is not his Marvel reboot after “Avengers: Age of Ultron”

Aaron Taylor-Johnson is about to debut his second Marvel character with Kraven the Hunter after previously playing Pietro Maximoff, a.k.a. Quicksilver, in 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron. But while the actor jokes that there's an "exclusive" club for everyone who has played multiple MCU roles — "We all hang out," he tells Entertainment Weekly with a laugh — he doesn't think of his upcoming villain origin story as his Marvel reboot.

"I'm laughing because I really feel like there's no connection at all in that respect," Taylor-Johnson says. "I don't really feel like there's an issue of crossover or a reboot situation. This isn't a reboot by any means."

Related: Watch Aaron Taylor-Johnson bite someone's nose off in the first Kraven the Hunter trailer

The actor isn't worried "at all" about whether it will be confusing for fans to see him in a different Marvel role after Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a. the Scarlett Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), grieved her speedster brother Pietro's emotional onscreen death in the second Avengers movie. "I don't really think in those terms," Taylor-Johnson says. "[Kraven the Hunter] feels worlds apart. It feels like a whole different venture. The beauty for me is that I get to play a character from the ground up and find layers. I've invested a lot of time into this, and it's something I'm really proud of, and I think it's got longevity."

As for the recent Pietro Maximoff appearance in the Disney+ series WandaVision, which was played by Evan Peters, who starred as a different Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse (does your brain hurt yet?).... Yes, Taylor-Johnson watched Peters take over the role he originated about a decade ago. And he loved it.

"That character was incredibly fun to play, especially with Lizzie Olsen, who I think is fantastic," Taylor-Johnson says. "And what she did with her character [in WandaVision] was brilliant. My kids loved that series as well. It was super exciting and really entertaining. But it was definitely a chapter of my life that I did, and was very grateful to do."

He continues, "That side of things, that whole MCU world, is definitely able to explore all that sort of multiverse, and I think the exciting thing for the fans and the audience was to be able to bring Evan Peters into that in a way that felt fun, and comedic, and fresh and exciting. And it worked perfectly for that series."

Related: Quicksilver vs. Quicksilver: How 'Avengers' and 'X-Men' introduced the same character differently

Taylor-Johnson, who is rumored to be in the running to be the next James Bond, is a bit shocked as he realizes he first played Quicksilver almost 10 years ago. "To me, it feels like there's so much distance from it, and a healthy distance from it when stepping onto something like this," he says. "The truth is, those characters were young adults. This character is a man; he's this hunter with an extraordinary skill set and he's navigating all these dark demons and this rage and fury that he has. I just found that he's got a really unique, interesting story that felt miles apart from that world. You watch this movie, and you don't have to be caught up in all of that [MCU timeline]. It stands on its own."

Sony Pictures' R-rated standalone film Kraven the Hunter stars Taylor-Johnson as Sergei Kravinoff and explores how he came to be the Spider-Man villain from the comics. Directed by J.C. Chandor, the movie also stars Russell Crowe, Ariana DeBose, Fred Hechinger, Alessandro Nivola, and Christopher Abbott. Taylor-Johnson describes the film as "a great gritty gangster story."

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He adds, "And I feel like that's refreshing. It almost gives it a clean slate of being able to get behind a new kind of character in a way that is fun."

Taylor-Johnson is hesitant to answer whether Kraven the Hunter is part of the MCU, but he hopes it ultimately spawns a new franchise centered on his character. "I feel like that's really a big question for the audience to decipher for themselves," he says. "Where this movie ends in this story, I'd be remiss if you didn't walk out there thinking, 'I want to see where this goes next.'"

Related: Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s antihero faces off against the Rhino in bloody new Kraven the Hunter trailer

He's also aware that "there's a lot of skepticism" as he gears up to debut Kraven the Hunter after multiple release delays (the movie was originally slated for a January 2023 premiere that was ultimately pushed three times). "I think that's okay — you can come to the table with a bit of skepticism," Taylor-Johnson says. "But I feel like if I've done my job...I am asking everybody to take that leap of faith with me, right?"

The actor adds that he's "put everything into this" role and movie, starting with the physical transformation. "If you look at that comic book character, I knew instantly that there's a physicality to this character," he says. "This guy's got huge arms, he's ripped down his stomach. That's the costume. People want to see that you have embodied that image, and you've brought it to life."

The actor adds it was "one challenge" to put on 40 lbs. of muscle and then another entirely to keep it on through the myriad reshoots and delays. "All those things make a big difference because I'm not trying to fool anybody, I take it seriously," Taylor-Johnson says. "I find that Marvel has this incredible stamp of approval around these iconic comic book characters and this one's a very iconic villainous character, and I use that as such a high standard. There's an incredible community and a fanbase for that, so I respect that, and I'm responsible for that character, and I carry the weight of that."

Kraven the Hunter premieres Dec. 13 in theaters.

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