Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter behind Disney’s Moana and Encanto, nearly took a very different turn in his career. In a new interview with Josh Horowitz, Miranda revealed that he was offered the role of the Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming, the villain ultimately played by Michael Keaton.
Kevin Feige Pitched Him The Entire Movie By Phone
Miranda said scheduling conflicts forced him to pass on the part, and he does not seem to have any regrets about how the casting shook out. “I would have been so miscast,” he admitted, recalling that Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige personally walked him through the film’s story. You can watch the full conversation here.
At the time Spider-Man: Homecoming was in production, Miranda was at the height of the Hamilton phenomenon, which makes the scheduling conflict easy to understand. Keaton went on to deliver one of the most acclaimed villain performances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Adrian Toomes, a role he later reprised.
Miranda’s Disney Legacy Took A Different Path
While the MCU villain role slipped away, Miranda’s relationship with The Walt Disney Company only deepened in the years that followed. He wrote the songs for Moana and Encanto, starred in Mary Poppins Returns, brought Hamilton to Disney+, and penned new music for the live-action The Little Mermaid. It is hard to argue he chose the wrong path.
As for Spider-Man, the franchise Miranda almost joined is bigger than ever. The next installment is tracking for a $180 million opening, which would be the biggest debut of 2026, when Spider-Man: Brand New Day arrives in theaters on July 31.
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