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Ariana DeBose is going places, and we are happy to follow her unique path. The Oscar nominee, Golden Globe and SAG Awards winner just secured a role in the Spider-Man spin-off movie Kraven the Hunter.
DeBose is reportedly playing the role of Calypso in the Sony Pictures’ Marvel movie, starring Aaron Taylor Johnson. According to Deadline, J.C. Chandor is directing the film with Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach producing, Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, and Richard Wenk wrote the screenplay.
The film will follow the story of one of Marvel’s most notorious anti-heroes. In the comic universe, Kraven is known for his encounters with Venom and Black Panther and being one of Spider-Man’s best-known enemies.
The character appeared for the first time in August of 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #15. He is the half-brother of the Chameleon and one of the founding members of the Sinister Six.
Just as Kraven the Hunter, Calypso Ezili is also a supervillain and an enemy of Spider-Man. She is a voodoo priestess of Haitian nationality, described in the comics as a psychopathic woman who utilizes magic potions and the lover and partner of Kraven the Hunter.
As reported, the film will be released theatrically on January 13, 2023.
The news of Ariana DeBose portraying a supervillain comes after becoming the first Afro-Latina queer actor to win a SAG Award in the best supporting actress category for her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story.
After accepting her award, the Puerto Rican descent star said her winning indicates “that doors are opening,” adding, “It’s an honor to an Afro Latina queer woman of color and a dancer and a singer and an actor.”
DeBose also said that although she is the first, she will not be the last. “That’s the important part. Whatever firsts are attached to my name, they’re important to me, but I’m focused on the fact that if I’m the first of anything, it means I will not be the last.”