Michael Keaton was long rumored to be playing the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming before the negotiations were reportedly unsuccessful, then back on, then finally successful.
In an interview with Variety, Keaton explained why the rumors kept changing as to whether or not he was cast (shifting schedules) and revealed he doesn’t think his villain is necessarily a villain.
Variety: I do think though, in all your roles, you bring an inherent likability, whether you want to or not. It’s been a while since you played a truly villainous role.
Keaton: Yeah, Vulture, recently. But not to give too much away, but interestingly, he is and he isn’t, that character. He’s a really interesting — and more interesting than I thought — villain because there’s parts of him that you go, “You know what? I might see his point.” Really, really. It makes it interesting to play.
Variety: Was there any hesitation, because you had done Batman, going back into the superhero universe?
Keaton: No, I mean, not at all. It’s just a thing. A gig. I don’t mean it’s just a gig, it’s the next job. And you think you can do it or want to do it and in fact I said no, because I couldn’t, it didn’t work in my schedule. Then I’m glad to say, they kind of shifted the scheduling and it worked out. So it fit in and I’m glad I did it.
Michael Keaton has turned down many famous roles, including foregoing a $15 million paycheck for Batman Forever because — in his words — it “sucked,” so getting him to play Vulture apparently took some schedule shuffling on Marvel’s part. You’d think Keaton — post-Batman and Birdman — would have accepted it just to play yet another winged character.
(Via Variety)
