One of the most acclaimed villains of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Vulture, was played by Michael Keaton who has revealed he doesn’t actually watch the movies at all.
Previously starring in the eponymous role of Tim Burton’s Batman, Keaton made a big switch some 28 years later for 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, going from hero to villain as Adrian Toomes in Tom Holland’s first full outing as the webhead. Since 2017, he’s appeared again as Vulture, albeit in the truly terrible post-credit sequence for Sony’s attempt at a Morbius film.
Despite a big return to blockbuster superhero flicks, Keaton admits he’s actually not seen any Marvel or DC film all the way through, as he prepares for a return to the role of Batman for The Flash. He recently told Variety he isn’t “highbrow,” — he just doesn’t consume that much media.
“I know people don’t believe this, that I’ve never seen an entire version of any of those movies — any Marvel movie, any other. And I don’t say that I don’t watch that because I’m highbrow — trust me! It’s not that,” he says. “It’s just that there’s very little things I watch. I start watching something, and think it is great and I watch three episodes, but I have other shit to do!”
It’s not uncommon for stars of these massive blockbusters to never see their own films. Paul Bettany often tells the story of never watching the Iron Man films and literally phoning in his performance a few months before each film. In an increasingly digital filmmaking landscape, we’re probably not too far off actors not even being needed on set.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is currently available to stream on Disney Plus, while Morbius is on Amazon Prime Video.