John Leguizamo is a well-known actor, thanks to lending his voice to Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age movie franchise. Moreover, Leguizamo brought Luigi to life in the 1993 film Super Mario Bros.
While Leguizamo’s portrayal of these roles is pretty well-known around the globe, the veteran actor could have been part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well. Yes, Leguizamo was originally cast as The Vulture in the 2017 MCU film Spider-Man: Homecoming.
Marvel Backed Out of Handing the Role of The Vulture to John Leguizamo to Please Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton is widely known around the world for his sensational portrayal of Bruce Wayne in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992). However, in 2017, Keaton entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe after landing the role of the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
But before Keaton was cast as the iconic villain, the role was offered to John Leguizamo. The Ice Age star shared how Marvel took away the role from him in an exclusive interview with ComicBook.
I was supposed to be the Vulture. 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. They offered me something tiny I went, ‘Nuh-uh.’
After all, it cost Leguizamo multiple MCU movies. Apart from Spider-Man: Homecoming, Keaton also made a short appearance as the Vulture in the 2022 film Morbius.
John Leguizamo Claimed That He was Used as a Pawn by Marvel
When the report was initially published in early 2023, it stirred up a lot of controversy around the MCU. Many believed that the news was fake, but John Leguizamo took it upon himself to confirm the rumor via an Instagram post.
It’s true but I was used as a pawn to close Keaton but I should have said ‘no’ because we had agreed to terms! And I had a leg to sue, but I ain’t litigious.
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Leguizamo went as far as saying that he could have sued Marvel for the betrayal. However, he didn’t go ahead with it as it would have only given more fire to his beef with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Keaton did a convincing job of playing the Vulture for MCU, fans will always wonder how Leguizamo would have done as the iconic character.
Will fans ever see the Ice Age fame in a future MCU movie? Well, if there’s one thing that is always true in Hollywood, it is never say never.
