Michael Keaton tastes other side of the cape as villain Vulture in 'Spider-Man'
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Molly Driscoll Staff writer
Actor Michael Keaton, a veteran of the 鈥淏atman鈥� film series, will star in the upcoming 鈥淪pider-Man鈥� film 鈥淪pider-Man: Homecoming鈥� as the villain the Vulture.聽
Mr. Keaton is, of course, no stranger to the superhero world, having starred in two "Batman" films as the Caped Crusader in 1989 and 1992. But much has changed in the superhero movie world since Keaton portrayed Bruce Wayne some 25 years ago.
Their cultural presence has of course grown enormously. When 鈥淏atman Returns鈥� was released in 1992, it was the only superhero film to be anywhere near the top of the list of highest-grossing movies domestically that year. Another major superhero series, the 鈥淪uperman鈥� films starring Christopher Reeve, had ended several years before with 鈥淪uperman IV.鈥澛�
Both network and streaming TV is full of superhero programming today, with Fox airing Batman series 鈥淕otham鈥� and ABC airing 鈥淢arvel鈥檚 Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.鈥� and both聽the CW and Netflix presenting multiple superhero TV shows.聽
Superhero programs were much less of a presence聽in the 1980s and 90s.
In the early 1990s, network television was still the highest-profile form of TV and the schedules of the networks included shows such as 鈥淢arried... with Children,鈥� 鈥淢urphy Brown,鈥� and 鈥淩oseanne.鈥澛燭he WB (the precursor to the CW) and Netflix, now the homes of multiple superhero shows, had not yet appeared.
ABC's "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" enjoyed a four-season run from 1993-1997, but聽a CBS version of 鈥淭he Flash鈥� that debuted in 1990 only lasted one season.
Keaton retired his portrayal of Batman in 1992 after the 1992 film "Batman Returns." He donned the superhero cape once more in the 2014聽drama "Birdman," in which he played a faded movie star who had previously found acclaim playing the superhero Birdman. That performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. His performance in "Spotlight" the following year helped earn that film the Oscar for聽Best Motion Picture of the Year.
鈥淗omecoming,鈥澛爓hich will also star聽Tom Holland,聽Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, and Donald Glover,聽will be released in the summer of 2017.
