Lin-Manuel Miranda reveals the Spider-Man: Homecoming role he turned down — and why he called it so miscast

Lin-Manuel Miranda almost put on the wings in Spider- Man: Homecoming. Yes, really. And no, he does not wish he had.

How close did it get?

On Josh Horowitz's Happy Sad Confused podcast, Miranda said the Marvel role he passed on was Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming. Back in 2016, Marvel boss Kevin Feige personally called him and walked him through the movie 's twisty plan over the phone. Cool flex, rough timing.

Production was set to start basically the minute Miranda stepped off the Hamilton stage. After years carrying that show, he was fried, wanted a vacation, and joked that racing into a big superhero shoot was not the best way to stay married.

"I would have been so miscast."

Horowitz actually guessed Martin Starr first before landing on Vulture. For the record: Starr wound up as Mr. Roger Harrington, Peter Parker's well-meaning teacher. The villain went to Michael Keaton, and Miranda could not be happier about that.

"No, Michael Keaton was perfect."

He specifically shouted out the movie's big dad reveal scene as the kind of moment Keaton nails. Honestly, hard to argue.

The quick backstory beats

• 2015–July 2016: Miranda stars as Alexander Hamilton at Broadway's Richard Rodgers Theatre after spending six years building the show from Ron Chernow's biography. He originally teased it at the White House in 2009. The thing becomes a phenomenon: a Pulitzer, a Grammy, and 11 Tony wins out of 16 nominations, on the way to billions in global revenue.
• 2016: While Miranda is wrapping Hamilton, Feige pitches him Vulture over the phone. Scheduling is a nightmare, and Miranda says thanks but no thanks.
• 2017: Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters with Keaton as Toomes and Starr as Mr. Harrington. That car scene lands like a sledgehammer.

So why pass on a Marvel villain?

Miranda's logic was pretty simple: Vulture was not written for his particular toolkit, and the timing would have steamrolled his life. He was also honest about something a lot of actors do not admit publicly: sometimes the best choice is to let the right person take the part. In this case, that was Keaton.

And if Marvel ever wants him airborne anyway? He is open to the idea in another universe as a different character. Just... not Toomes.

Where he has actually been popping up

Miranda has spent years being the guy who makes casting directors look smart. He created the Tony-winning In the Heights, skipped into Mary Poppins Returns as Jack, and most recently turned on the charm as Hermes in Percy Jackson and the Olympians. His Moana work has also been back in the spotlight thanks to a recent live turn with Polynesian dancers.

Bottom line

This is one of those nerdy behind-the-scenes tidbits that makes you rethink a movie you already like. Miranda could have been your Vulture. Instead, he took a breather after Hamilton, Keaton swooped in, and Homecoming got one of the MCU 's best grounded villains. Everybody won.