Over the weekend at Comic-Con we got a look at Spider-Man: Homecoming's villain, the Vulture, who is expected to be played by Michael Keaton. Many were taken aback by the image because he appeared to be so heavily tech-based, like numerous other character in the MCU. Speaking with Collider, director Jon Watts talked about the decision to go that route rather than making him a metahuman, and it boils down to the needs of the story they wanted to tell...
"It's a very tech based approach to how The Vulture would build a wing suit and how he would fly," the filmmaker explained. "It's not just cool design, it's a big part of the story. That I can't give away, but there's some cool stuff that goes along with that..."From the very beginning, we wanted to try to keep it tech based just to keep it different initially from what we had seen before. Just getting away from anything that was too similar to [the past], and it sets up a really cool thing that I don't want to talk about yet! It's gonna be awesome."
Considering Spider-Man's extensive Rogues Gallery, there were a ton of options to choose from for his first foe in the MCU. So what went into the decision to choose Vulture? Watts explains the reason to Comicbook.com...
"Well, we wanted to sort of go back to the origins of what made Spider-Man and Peter Parker so unique you know, and that’s why we just sort of really doubled down on the idea that he is a kid. He is a high school student in this crazy universe. He has to keep his identity a secret, which a lot of the other characters in the MCU don’t, um, and just, in general, going back to those origins ya know. The Vulture is really the first supervillain that Spider-Man ever fights in Amazing Spider-Man, the second issue, after the chameleon, so it just felt like the right thing to do, to go back to the roots in that way."
"We talked about a lot of different things but The Vulture always sort of rose to the top and just the opportunity to have Spider-Man versus a guy that can fly really lends itself to some pretty cool visuals."
So where does the film fit in the overall MCU? How does Peter Parker's high school adventures gel in a world that includes Norse thunder gods, killer robots, talking raccoons? Watts explains...
"I think of it as the ground floor. If the Avengers Tower is the penthouse and we know what it’s like to be a millionaire, billionaire playboy to be Tony or we know what it’s like to be a God on another planet, that’s the penthouse level of the MCU. Spider-Man is the ground floor. What does a high school in the MCU look like? What does riding the subway in the MCU feel like? Spider-Man seems like the most perfect opportunity because he’s the most regular person in the canon that I thought he was a great chance to show what that angle of the MCU feels like."
Following Tom Holland's incredible debut in Captain America: Civil War there's no doubt Spider-Man: Homecoming is one of Marvel's most anticipated films in years. Look for it to hit theaters next year on July 7th.
