Last week, we reported that Michael Keaton was “in early talks” to play one of the villains—possibly the Vulture—in Spider-Man: Homecoming, an idea that seemed particularly unlikely given the fact that Keaton was recently nominated for an Academy Award for playing an actor who didn’t want to be remembered just for being a bird-themed superhero. Sadly, though, for any Keaton-heads out there who were hoping to see him pop up in another comic book adaptation, Deadline is reporting that Keaton has “fallen out” of those talks and officially “won’t be a part of the project.”
However, while Michael Keaton has turned down his invitation to Spider-Man: Homecoming, Robert Downey Jr. has gracefully accepted one in his place. According to that same Deadline article, Downey will be stepping into his Iron Man boots once again for some kind of appearance in the Tom Holland-starring reboot, but it’s not clear if he’ll be an integral part of the plot or if he’ll just stop by for a quick cameo and some friendly flirting with Spidey’s elderly Aunt May (played by Marisa Tomei). Also, Deadline suspects that it’s “likely” he won’t be the only other superhero to show up.
Spider-Man: Homecoming will awkwardly slow-dance into theaters on July 7, 2017.