Michael Keaton in talks to play the villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming

Michael Keaton may be famously known as the first big screen Batman, but the last time he had anything to do with superheroes was the brilliant Oscar-winning existentialist drama Birdman. Well, it appears that Keaton might just be keeping things avian when it comes to the world of superheroes as Variety is reporting that he is in talks to play the lead villain in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The official title for the new official Marvel-driven Spider-Man reboot was just announced yesterday at CinemaCon. It came on the heels of a report by Devin Faraci from BMD about the fact that this new high-school set Spidey, played by 19-year old British actor Tom Holland, would be facing off classic villain The Vulture for his first adventure in the MCU. The report may have been unconfirmed, but seeing as how the rest of it (regarding the movie title) panned out to be spot on the money, it’s a safe bet that this is also on the cards.

And if that is the case, and Variety’s casting report is correct (talks are apparently in a very early stage), that means Keaton will be going from Birdman to Vulture. Keaton is of course nowhere the age that Vulture aka Adrian Toomes is always depicted as in the comic, but there’s no denying the meta-coolness of this casting. Also Keaton has been on a huge career revival as of late, reminding us all just what a fantastically energetic actor he is, despite being almost completely overlooked by Hollywood for years. I would love to see him bring that fire to the role of this bitter and twisted villain.

Last Updated: April 14, 2016