It was 2002 when actor J.K. Simmons first appeared in the role of J. Jonah Jameson, the loud-mouthed Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Bugle, in Sam Raimi’s first Spider-Man. He would go on to play the role in two further sequels before the franchise would undergo a culture shift.
Jump forwards to 2019 and one of the biggest moments in Sony Pictures Spider-Man: Far From Home was he return to the role, outing Tom Holland’s Peter Parker as the wall-crawling hero.
In a new interview with EW Simmons has talked about originally landing the role and his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
“The producers and the people at Sony, they needed to be convinced,” recalled Simmons of his initial casting. “Because obviously, there were a lot of much more high-profile actors that they had in mind that would help with the box office. It was very nerve-wracking.”
Asked whether he would be returning for Spider-Man 3, Simmons said “I don’t know if I would use the word ‘expect.’ When we signed on for the first movie, we signed a contract to do two sequels as well. Which is always a one-sided…contract where you’re committed to do it, but they’re not necessarily committed to use your character in the ensuing movies. So it was great to have the opportunity [to return] as these things evolve, to be one of the holdovers from the previous version.”
Tom Holland’s third outing as Spider-Man is currently set to hit the big screen on November 5, 2021.
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