5 Marvel Villains Former BATMAN Michael Keaton Could Be Playing In SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

He's played Batman and Birdman, but now Michael Keaton looks set to join the MCU as a Spider-Man villain! Who should he play? Well, despite the rumours, these are the best possible choices...

By JoshWilding - Apr 14, 2016 09:04 AM EST

Filed Under: Spider-Man

There are two big problems with the rumour that The Vulture will be a villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming. For starters, he's one of the wall-crawler's lamest foes, and more to the point, sticking Michael Keaton in a green bird suit as a minor bad guy in this reboot would be a real waste of his talents. Time will tell if there's any truth to that report, but with the Spotlight star in talks to join the cast as a villain, who should he actually end up playing if not p*ssed off pensioner Adrian Toomes?

Well, I've rounded up the five characters I believe to be the most likely and exciting possibilities. As much as I love the Marvel movies, there's no getting around the fact that they have something of a villain problem, and it would be a great shame to see Spider-Man's spectacular rogues gallery go the same way as the likes of Malekith and Whiplash! With an actor as great as Keaton though, something special is hopefully on the horizon, so hit that NEXT button to check out the full list of candidates.

5. J. Jonah Jameson

I know what you're thinking; J. Jonah Jameson isn't a villain, right? Well, while he may have mellowed out in recent years, there's no getting around the fact that he's been a thorn in Spider-Man's side on many occasions, something which was particularly the case during the wall-crawler's early years when he played a role in the creation of the Scorpion and Alistair Smythe's Spider-Slayers.

While I'm not suggesting making JJJ a fully fledged villain, having him take on a similar role in this movie as some sort of antagonist desperate to discredit Spider-Man and bring him down could make for an interesting dynamic and would arguably be a better route to take Jonah down than the comedic (but still brilliant) one in Sam Raimi's trilogy. Throw in the fact that he looks the part, and I can see this working well.

The fact that Sony are forging ahead with Venom after attempting to develop everything from Sinister Six to a female led team-up movie and a f***ing Aunt May spinoff proves that they're enthusiastic about expanding Spider-Man's world, and I don't see that suddenly not being the case just because they're working with Marvel!

A loose adaptation of The Clone Saga in this reboot opens the door to that as we could be looking at movies revolving around everyone from Scarlet Spider to Spider-Woman (a clone in the Ultimate Universe), and The Jackal being a recurring villain in these releases thereby makes sense. Keaton could start off in Spider-Man: Homecoming as one of Peter's teachers before being revealed as The Jackal later on, setting up the sequel and Ben Reilly's introduction.

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3. Norman Osborn

The Osborn family have factored heavily into every single Spider-Man movie to date, so do we really need to see them again? Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 completely ruined Harry Osborn's transformation into the Green Goblin. Norman meanwhile only really appeared in the first Spider-Man (hallucinations and lying in a bed waiting to become a decapitated head don't count), and though that was handled well, I think there's room for improvement.

So, pitting Spidey against his greatest foe in this reboot could be a smart move if Marvel tackles him the right way, although him being a big bad of sorts who ends up taking on the wall-crawler AND The Avengers down the line could also work. Either way, Keaton is definitely an actor with enough gravitas to make Norman great again.

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2. Morlun

Spider-Man: Homecoming = Spider-Man: Coming Home? I have my tin foil hat on right now and am willing to bet that's at least a possibility, and Marvel could do worse than adapting the J. Michael Straczynski story which made fans fall back in love with the hero after Howard Mackie's disastrous run (maybe they can ask him back to repair the damage Dan Slott is doing with his Tony Stark-lite Peter).

While Michael Keaton doesn't exactly look the part, I could still picture him as Morlun, mainly because he plays crazy so well and has the ability to be such an intimidating and frightening presence on the screen! At the end of the day, this character doesn't need to be a massive bodybuilder type in a suit, and pitting Spidey against a foe like this allows Marvel to explore the mystical side of his powers.

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1. Mysterio

A character we've all been hoping to see on the big screen for years now, Mysterio would bring a lot to the table in Spider-Man: Homecoming. His powers of illusion gives Marvel the opportunity to take the hero's next adventure to some really fun and trippy places, while Keaton is the perfect age to take on the role of a washed up special effects expert (who, in this day and age, has perhaps been pushed out of his job because CGI is obviously much easier to use than practical effects).

Based on his work in Birdman, I feel like this is the kind of character who would appeal to Keaton too as it gives him the chance to do more than play just another one dimensional bad guy. There's a really interesting story which could be told with Mysterio, and I for one think it would be great to see him in this reboot!

Who do you think Michael Keaton should play in Spider-Man: Homecoming? One of these bad guys or someone else? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the usual place.

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138 Comments

1 2 3 4

DEVWoulf - 4/14/2016, 9:05 AM

It's like flys on shit.

NeoBaggins - 4/14/2016, 9:14 AM

Gonna be funny when we find out he's playing Uncle Ben instead of a villain.

TheEpicJuicebox - 4/14/2016, 9:15 AM

I hope he's Norman, just don't make him the goblin for a WHILE

Quexul - 4/14/2016, 9:15 AM

New villain please...

The72nd - 4/14/2016, 9:16 AM

I would love mysterio but I don't see Michael Keaton spending half of the movie in a fishbowl

Claymore - 4/14/2016, 9:51 AM

@The72nd - He played Beetlejuice and Batman guy would probably love to play mysterio

The72nd - 4/14/2016, 10:04 AM

@Ryuk1995 - yeah, but with a big name actor like that the studio really wants to get some face time, and mysterio is fully covered

Prombo - 4/14/2016, 9:16 AM

Jason Isaacs for Norman Osborn!

Prombo - 4/14/2016, 9:18 AM

@Prombo -

GhostDog - 4/14/2016, 9:20 AM

1 2 3 4

5 Marvel Villains Former BATMAN Michael Keaton Could Be Playing In SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING

He's played Batman and Birdman, but now Michael Keaton looks set to join the MCU as a Spider-Man villain! Who should he play? Well, despite the rumours, these are the best possible choices...

5. J. Jonah Jameson

4. Jackal

3. Norman Osborn

2. Morlun

1. Mysterio

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