Michael Keaton To Join ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’?
Is Michael Keaton back in for Spider-Man: Homecoming? A few weeks ago the Inquisitr reported that he was in talks, then it looked like the actor passed on the opportunity to play a particular villainous role in the upcoming Marvel film.
That said, Variety reports that it looks like Michael Keaton is back in to take on the role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. At first it was thought that Keaton backed out of the opportunity to play the role after Robert Downey, Jr. was cast to reprise his role as Tony Stark. Variety reports that the studio couldn’t afford both stars in their budget, but it looks like they figured it out, or someone took a cut.
If the deal closes and is official, Michael Keaton will join Robert Downey, Jr. and Tom Holland, who has already impressed viewers as Spider-Man.
As for Michael Keaton, as many know, this won’t be his first foray into the superhero world. In 1989 he donned a different kind of cape to take on the role of Batman, which he reprised once more in 1992. Keaton has had a career resurgence in recent years with films such as Spotlight and especially Birdman, which was a brilliant meta film about an actor trying to escape his superhero past — sound familiar?
It looks like Michael Keaton might be in #SpiderManHomecoming after all https://t.co/HKrE3rnLKD pic.twitter.com/gRXxnCY8nA
— Indiewire (@indiewire) May 20, 2016
As far as his role goes, the Inquisitr reported a few weeks ago that it’s suspected to be Vulture/Adrian Toomes.
Here’s a few responses about the news of Michael Keaton possibly joining Spider-Man: Homecoming:
@Deadline Marisa Tomei already made me want to see #SpiderManHomecoming, but if Keaton gets the villain role, that would be fantastic.
— Tony Holt (@tholt74) May 20, 2016
So if Michael Keaton is Vulture as suspected, they can’t ignore the similarities to Falcon, right? Maybe Adrian Toomes invented Sam’s tech?
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) May 20, 2016
| If Michael Keaton is The Vulture for the MCU, then sign me up— PLEASE.
— Spider-Man. (@OfWittyArachnid) May 20, 2016
Glad Michael Keaton is on board the Spidey movie, but can someone tell me what’s special about Vulture beyond being able to fly? I’m curious
— Rochi Shion (@Marvel_Freshman) May 20, 2016
That said, Keaton also has another juicy role to return to, and that seems like more of a priority than Spider-Man, depending on when it chooses to film. As expected, Keaton will reprise his role of Beetlejuice in the upcoming sequel, which will see director Tim Burton reunite most of the original cast.
Writer Seth Grahame-Smith had this to say about the upcoming sequel as well as Keaton’s involvement in the film.
“I’ve emailed with Michael Keaton. I know he’s excited about the idea. I know Tim is excited about the idea. Where it stands now is Tim’s got to get ready to make [Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children], and then hopefully we are set, deals are done, and we’re waiting in the wings ready to go right after Peregrine’s wraps up. The ideal timeline is we’re really getting into it toward the end of this year.”
Tim Burton finally reveals what’s going on with Beetlejuice 2…https://t.co/9luHBDJ9lo pic.twitter.com/ndjMBBjUv3
— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) May 13, 2016
If Keaton’s possible role in Spider-Man seems like a no-brainer for the actor, it probably wasn’t. As the actor explained back in 2014, he passed on Batman Forever, which was probably a good decision, but it goes to show that Keaton really thinks about his decisions when it comes to potential tent-pole films.
When he sat down with CBS Sunday Morning, he said of the film, “It sucked. Yeah, it just was awful!” If you remember, Val Kilmer played the caped crusader in that installment.
As for Beetlejuice, Keaton told Entertainment Weekly that he would come back as long as Tim Burton was there.
“If it was Tim Burton directing? In a heartbeat. Tim, in the movies, really invented the whole dark-superhero thing. He started everything, and some of the guys who have done these movies since then don’t say that, and they’re wrong.”
[Photo by Fox Searchlight]