Sony Pictures is reportedly eyeing Jodie Turner-Smith for the role of Calypso in Kraven the Hunter. Set to open in theaters in January 2023, Kraven the Hunter is Sony's next installment in their own cinematic universe, SPUMC (Sony Picture's Universe of Marvel Characters), and will feature Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the title role. Kraven the Hunter is one of Spider-Man's most recognizable villains, and he tends to have his own group of supporting players, one of them being Calypso.
Introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #209 in 1980 by Denny O'Neil and Alan Weiss, Calypso is a voodoo priestess who is often an ally and love interest of Kraven the Hunter. Calypso was the main villain in Todd McFarlane's five-issue opening arc "Torment," whose first issue sold 2.65 million copies and was at the time the best-selling comic book of all time. Calypso has been featured in both Spider-Man: The Animated Series and The Spectacular Spider-Man as well as video game adaptations of Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimension.
It appears that Sony Pictures intends to include Calypso in Kraven the Hunter and they also have an actress in mind. According to The Illuminerdi, actress Jodie Turner-Smith is the studio's top pick for the character. No other details are known about the character or who else the studio is considering, but the role of Calypso is expected to be a major one in the film.
Turner-Smith made her acting debut on the hit HBO series, True Blood, before becoming one of the stars of TNT's The Last Ship in season 4. She appeared in the film Neon Demon and was one of the headlining stars in the film, Queen & Slim, alongside Daniel Kaluuya. She most recently appeared alongside Michael B. Jordan in the film, Without Remorse, an adaptation of the Tom Clancy novel of the same name. Turner-Smith is currently filming White Noise from director Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story) for Netflix.
In the comics, Calypso is responsible for gifting Kraven his enchanted speed and strength, so her inclusion in the film hints at it being an origin story for Kraven the Hunter. With Spider-Man being one of the most popular Marvel characters of all time, he has had a number of comics in publication with plenty of writers creating interesting characters that sometimes go forgotten. Calypso's inclusion alongside Shriek (played by Naomi Harris, who played a different Calypso in Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End) in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, shows that Sony is using the vast history of the Spider-Man comics to fill out their supporting roster of these villain-centric films with characters who may not have gotten a chance in a film before. Calypso's appearance in Kraven the Hunter could make her the next big breakout Marvel character.
Source: The Illuminerdi
