Michael Keaton, star of Birdman—a critique of Hollywood’s addiction to big-budget superhero movies, whose director called the superhero movie genre “cultural genocide”—is reportedly in talks to star in the new Spider-Man movie. Variety and the Hollywood Reporter both reported Wednesday that Keaton was being eyed to play a villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming. While the identity of the villain has not been confirmed, a rumor has already surfaced that it will be Spidey’s longtime superfoe Vulture. In other words, the Birdman star might be playing an actual birdman.
All ironies aside, it’s exciting to think that Keaton might return to the kind of larger-than-life performances he gave for Tim Burton as Bruce “You Wanna Get Nuts?” Wayne in Batman and Batman Returns and the title character in Beetlejuice. DC movies might have gotten a bit more dour in the past couple decades, but Marvel Studios’ interpretations have managed to balance out their heavier themes with heaping doses of levity—and Keaton seems like a perfect match.
