It’s not something new for Marvel Studios’ productions to go through a variety of changes and cancellations. However, one revelation has fans buzzing with both excitement and regret. According to concept art shared online by multiple storyboard artists, Michael Keaton’s Vulture was initially slated for a pivotal role in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
The 2021 installment was the closest thing fans ever received to a movie that featured multiple villains similar to the Sinister Six—even though it only had five villains, and a few of them were left on the back burner. It’s only after the revelation of the concept arts, fans came across how Michael Keaton’s Vulture was set to team up with Spider-Man until his cameo was scrapped.
Spider-Man: Homecoming Had Set Michael Keaton’s Return as Vulture in the MCU
Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, in Spider-Man: Homecoming was nothing short of iconic. His performance as the main antagonist of the 2017 movie brought a grounded, menacing edge to the MCU’s roster of villains. However, it was his mid-credits scene in the film that caught people’s attention like never before.
During the Homecoming mid-credits sequence, Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes was seen refusing to disclose the wall-crawler’s secret identity to Michael Mando’s Mac Gargan while in prison. This particular scene not only gave hope but also inspired fans to speculate on the Vulture’s return to the MCU. The idea of seeing Vulture reappear was certainly tantalizing.
However, despite the character’s potential in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man universe, Michael Keaton did not reappear on-screen until Morbius (2022), which is set in Sony’s Venom-verse. This left fans quite disappointed until they came across concept art from Spider-Man: No Way Home, which revealed how Keaton was slated to appear in the 2021 movie.
Tom Holland’s Spider-Man: No Way Home Scrapped Michael Keaton’s Appearance
When Spider-Man: No Way Home was announced, the buzz surrounding Michael Keaton’s appearance was palpable. The film’s premise, involving the multiverse and the return of familiar villains from previous Spider-Man franchises, set the stage for Vulture’s return. But unfortunately, Keaton was never spotted in the film, until concept arts and storyboard revealed how the character was once in the script.
According to artworks shared on Instagram by Josh Nizzi, and later corroborated by @Marvel_Updates_ on X, Michael Keaton’s Vulture was once poised to join forces with Spider-Man in a capacity that could have been a game-changer. As per the artworks, it seems evident that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man universe had set the stage for Vulture’s reappearance. However, it was not until the last minute that the character was scrapped.
Initial plans included Michael Keaton’s Vulture potentially teaming up with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, bringing a fresh twist to the multiverse chaos. The concept art depicted how Vulture was expected to align with Spider-Man in order to catch all of the multiversal villains loose in New York. However, despite the complex narrative that could have emerged from this collaboration, Spider-Man: No Way Home ultimately scrapped Keaton’s appearance.
The reasons behind this cancellation remain speculative, but oftentimes such decisions are influenced by narrative cohesion, character arcs, and more. Nonetheless, the omission of Vulture’s cameo became a missed opportunity for what could have been an electrifying development in Spider-Man’s cinematic journey. So now, fans will have to make peace with the tantalizing “what ifs” and hope that the MCU revisits these possibilities in future narratives.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently available to watch on Disney+.
