ABC/Heidi Gutman(NEW YORK) — He redefined Batman for a generation, and is now starring as a villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming — but Michael Keaton is no comic book fan. “Which is kind of ironic,” he told ABC’s Good Morning America on Monday.
“I basically know nothing about any of the lore of any comic book, frankly,” Keaton laughed. “So I had to catch up.”
In Homecoming, Keaton plays classic Spider-Man baddie Adrian Toomes/The Vulture, who made his first comic appearance back in 1963. This is Vulture’s first appearance on the big screen, and Keaton explains why he was drawn to the character.
“When they told me about this guy I was gonna play, I thought it was really an interesting take,” says Keaton. “[H]e isn’t from outer space. He’s a real guy who has a legitimate argument…Works hard. Big family guy…which I thought was a really interesting approach.”
Keaton’s Toomes is a blue-collar guy whose company has a city contract to clean up after The Avengers‘ Battle of New York. When he’s cut out of the deal, he turns to crime to provide for his family.
“He’s not getting what he deserves,” Keaton says.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is from Sony Pictures and from Marvel Studios, the latter of which, like ABC News, is owned by Disney. It stars Tom Holland as the webslinger, Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark, and Marisa Tomei as Aunt May. It opens July 7.
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