'Spider-Man: Homecoming' RUMORS: Robert Downey Jr. and Michael Keaton Joining Cast?

With Tom Holland débuting as Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War in just a few weeks, the casting process for his solo superhero movie Spider-Man: Homecoming is gearing up, and rumor has it Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man could join -- but that's not all! Former Batman Michael Keaton is reportedly in talks to play a Marvel Cinematic Universe role in the upcoming film!

The stars of Civil War are currently doing press rounds all over to promote the major superhero event, and that includes Downey and part of Team Iron Man appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier this week. Right after he talked about how great Holland is in the role of the web-slinging hero, the talk show host directly asked him whether he'd be around for the stand-alone movie -- and the actor's answer was everything one would expect from real-life Tony Stark.

"Perhaps I will. I don't have a contract yet," Downey said.

Downey, who's been playing the billionaire/superhero since 2008, has been Forbes' highest-paid actor for three years in a row, as he's been part of the highest-grossing Marvel movies, including the two Avengers films so far. In other words, history shows that to get the actor in a superhero film, Disney's going to have to pay the big bucks.

While the studio's tailoring a contract for Downey, another Oscar nominee could be joining the film. According to Variety, the Spotlight star is currently in early talks to play a villain in the movie, though it's unclear which one.

Keaton has vast experience in the superhero movie business: not only did he star as the Caped Crusader in Tim Burton's Batman and its sequel Batman Returns, but he also played a washed-up superhero movie actor in Academy Award Best Picture winner Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).

In other words, if he really is cast in the role, Keaton would have gone from superhero to superhero critique to supervillain, a road possibly nobody else has taken in Hollywood.

Spider-Man: Homecoming will be in theaters on July 7, 2017.

via GIPHY