It appears a major casting is looming for Spider-Man: Homecoming with Michael Keaton in early talks to play the lead villain in the movie…
Marvel will team up with Sony for the new stand alone Spider-Man film due out in 2017 titled — Spider-Man: Homecoming — and Academy Award nominee Michael Keaton is reportedly in early talks to play the lead villain.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Keaton has become the leading candidate to land the coveted role opposite Tom Holland, who will play the webslinger in the the upcoming movie.
Marvel and Sony just announced the new film on Tuesday with a July 7, 2017 release date and shooting for the movie directed by Joe Webb is expected to begin this summer.
The movie is expected to put Spider-Man back into high school with a younger spin on the character with Holland making his official debut as the character in Captain America: Civil War.
Keaton is well known for his connection to the comic book movie world after playing Batman in the first two installments of Tim Burton’s take on the Caped Crusader in Batman and Batman Returns.
Keaton just recently enjoyed a career rejuvenation with his role in Birdman that landed him an Oscar nomination as well as his part in the Academy Award winning feature Spotlight.
There’s no word on the character Keaton might play if he’s joining Spider-Man: Homecoming but there are plenty of iconic roles available throughout the Spider-Man canon.
Maybe the most obvious choice would be a new take on Norman Osborn aka The Green Goblin or he could play another classic Spider-Man villain like The Vulture (who has never appeared in a previous iteration of the Spider-Man franchise on film). One choice that we’d like to see as a possibility is Keaton playing Kraven the Hunter — a character made famous in a storyline from 1987 titled “Kraven’s Last Hunt” in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man.
Right now nothing is set in stone regarding Keaton taking the role or who he’ll play but there are plenty of possibilities available as Spider-Man is rebooted as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
