Lin-Manuel Miranda Reveals the Real Reason He Turned Down a Major Marvel Role

In a recent sit-down interview with the Happy, Sad, Confused Podcast, Moana live-action songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda revealed he almost played a pivotal bad guy for Kevin Feige in a Marvel Studios release right after ending his Broadway run on his Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton.

The multi-hyphenate creative was just getting his streak started at the time, having already worked on the animated Moana during his Alexander Hamilton-starring era, and his invite into the Disney Studios family very nearly came with major MCU cred.

Marvel Studios head Feige personally reached out to him as his run on stage was coming to a close to offer him the villain role in Spider-Man: Homecoming. "[He} told me the entire plot over the phone. And I was like, 'Oh!'" he said of his real-time reaction toward the reveal that Vulture, the role he was offered, was the father of the girl Peter Parker (Tom Holland) had feelings for in the film, but would also serve as Spider-Man's nemesis in the 2017 film.

While Miranda got hyped for the chance to play in the superhero sandbox for Sony and Marvel, there was one key detail that cut the conversation short. Miranda explained, "I said, 'When does it shoot?'" and said that Feige answered, "The moment you step off stage in Hamilton," which was not ideal. He turned down the role, telling Marvel's head honcho, "I love these movies, but I would really like to stay married. So I cannot do this."

The role of Vulture, of course, ended up going to superhero veteran and favorite Batman, Michael Keaton-a casting that Miranda conceded was more fitting than his, sharing that he felt "that would have been terrible" had he done it. "I'm very glad because Michael Keaton was perfect; they found exactly who they needed," he geeked out, admitting, "I have no regrets. I needed a vacation so badly...and I think I would have been deeply miscast."

Watch the rest of the interview below:

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 10:22 PM.