Michael Keaton Was Destined for 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'.
'Batman,' 'Birdman' and his new role as The Vulture complete a journey in which each part has built upon the previous one.
Over the last several years, Michael Keaton has enjoyed a career renaissance, rising from the trappings of second-rate family films and thrillers (like Jack Frost or Herbie: Fully Loaded) like a majestic phoenix from the ashes. His wings were once clipped, but now he soars, picking off critically acclaimed acting roles like a bird of prey.
The avian similes are fitting because of Keaton’s winged character choices as of late, such as in Alejandro G. Inarritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) — which scored the actor an Oscar nomination — and now the Vulture in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Across these two films, he essentially plays out his own career in a stupendously meta and cathartic way that shows just how emotive and varied a thespian he can be. In many ways, The Vulture is a role Keaton has been preparing for since Tim Burton's Batman in 1989 — and one that people may not have been able to take seriously had he not done Birdman in between.
