Michael Keaton Being Sought as ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Villain

Drew Dietsch
Movies Marvel
Movies Marvel

This is the most perfect news you’ll hear today. Michael Keaton — the definitive Batman for a certain generation — is being courted to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s interpretation of everyone’s favorite web-slinger in Spider-Man: Homecoming..

Rumors have arisen that one of the villains in the film will be The Vulture, a nemesis who was supposed to be in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4 before the studio rebooted the franchise. It’s been implied that the Vulture’s role will be that of a supporting antagonist instead of the main threat, but that seems like a perfect role for Keaton to do. He was somewhat weak as the big bad of the 2014 RoboCop remake, so a supporting turn that allows him to cut loose more sounds like a slam dunk.

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Of course, there is some meta-humor to this news. Keaton recently made a comeback with the critically-beloved Birdman, a darkly satirical drama about a former actor who played a superhero. The metaness is overwhelming! As lukewarm as I was about Birdman, this bit of real-world connection actually gives us a good idea of how playful this new version of Spidey is going to be, both in tone and self-awareness. I have to believe that the jaunty silliness of Deadpool and its astounding success are going to influence this new Spider-Man film in a big way.

With the world about to fall in love with Tom Holland’s take on Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, we should be hearing more and more news about his solo outing in the months ahead. I won’t be surprised to hear that Doctor Strange will be carrying our first teaser for the movie. Stay connected with Fandom to make sure you don’t miss anything!

Drew Dietsch
Drew Dietsch has been professionally writing about entertainment for over a decade. His bylines include FANDOM - where he was a founding contributor and Entertainment Editor - Bloody Disgusting, SYFY WIRE, and more. He created and hosts GenreVision, a weekly film discussion show at genrevision.com.