Back in 2024, John Leguizamo (The Odyssey, Summer of Sam, John Wick) revealed that he was in talks to play the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Though Michael Keaton ultimately signed on to play the character, the Batman actor was reportedly hesitant to commit at first, and Marvel/Sony had Leguizamo lined up in case negotiations fell through.
Apparently, Leguizamo was told that the role was his prior to Keaton agreeing to play the part.
“I was supposed to be the Vulture,” Leguizamo said at the time. “We had negotiated and I was about to play him, and they said that Michael Keaton wanted it back and they asked me if I would give it up. I said, ‘Well, okay I guess.’ They said, ‘No, we’ll work with you again, we’re gonna…’ That’s what happened there.”
Leguizamo has now recalled being "uninvited" to join the MCU while speaking to THR.
“They offered me Spider-Man, the Vulture, and then the head of the studio called me, ‘Oh, John, this is really terrible.’ We had already negotiated. We had accepted terms. I hadn’t signed a contract, but we had accepted terms. It was pretty far along in negotiations. And she said, ‘We’d like the role back. Michael Keaton wants it back.’ And I was like, ‘What the [frick] is this?” I’ve never heard of such a crazy thing.’ I could have sued, but my reps are all cowards. It could [also] backfire. I mean, I’m not a litigious person anyway. That’s not who I am. I’d rather move on and create my own stuff.”
This experience didn't turn Leguizamo off superhero movies altogether, as he recently revealed that he would still be interested in a substantial role in another franchise.
“I would if I was offered The Riddler or some part like that. I would go back to other franchises. I mean, if you make it up to me. But then they offered me some tiny scientist in the movie. I was like, ‘No thank you. Thank you, but no.'”
We haven't seen Adrian Toomes since that infamous Morbius post-credits scene, and with Sony's SPUMC (or whatever they were calling it) now pretty much dead and buried, the chances of Keaton reprising the role seem pretty slim.
Leguizamo is getting some Oscar buzz for his supporting role as Eumaeus in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. The actor was asked for his thoughts on who should be able to play what roles in 2026.
“Now that ancient story that’s so powerful to Western literature belongs to everyone, and how beautiful is that? How generous is that? How open and inviting is that, to have Lupita Nyong’o play twins, Clytemnestra and Helen of Troy, and Travis Scott be the bard, and Corey Hawkins be Polybus, one of the evil suitors?”
“In a fair world, which it never is, everybody should be able to play anything. But the thing is that nobody gets to play anything except white cisgender males. They were never casting disabled actors ever. And now directors that I know, friends of mine, make it a mandatory thing to cast one disabled actor, to create a role for them. How great is that for them? They wouldn’t cast gay actors, even in gay roles they wouldn’t, that’s the way it was. In Latin roles, a lot of white actors were taking Latin roles in brownface for the longest time, since Touch of Evil with Charlton Heston in brownface with the black mustache. It was crazy. So I think, in this moment of correction, and perhaps it’s an overcorrection, it’s important that we cast the people who are written as the role and give them the opportunities. I really believe that. And then maybe eventually, when things are fair, then everybody can play everything all over again.”