Thanks to delving into the Marvel multiverse, the MCU has been able to bring back multiple actors from older Marvel franchises to play variants of their characters, like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast in The Marvels and Hugh Jackman in Deadpool & Wolverine, the latest of the Marvel movies in order. In 2019, however, it was novel to see J.K. Simmons appear as the MCU’s version of J. Jonah Jameson in the Spider-Man: Far From Home mid-credits scene. Although Simmons was game to reprise the character he’d previously played in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man series, the actor was perplexed upon learning about the changes being made for this version of Jameson.
While going over his career with GQ, Simmons first discussed his time working on Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, with the middle entry ranking as one of our best movies of the 2000s. He then recalled how he reacted upon learning that Marvel Studios wanted him to play the J. Jonah Jameson who resided in the MCU, which came literally after the main Far From Home shoot was finished. As he explained:
The movie was in the can. I don’t even know whose idea it was, if it was Amy [Pascal] or it was Jon [Watts] or if it was somebody else, ‘Hey, we can squeeze in a little J. Jonah Jameson here. Why not get J.K. and see if he’ll do it.’ And of course I was intrigued by the idea. ‘And we’re not going to do the flattop and the mustache and the cigar and all that,’ and I was like, ‘What?! That’s like half of the guy. What do you mean we’re not [doing that]?’ [I’m] trying to wrap my brain around that, and they were like, ‘Well, yours were so great and felt like a period piece. We’re modernizing the franchise, and he’s not a newspaper guy, he’s a media mogul of this and that.’
Rather than recast J. Jonah Jameson, Jon Watts, who directed the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy, said in 2019 that there was “never any discussion” about anyone else playing the character besides J.K. Simmons. As a refresher, in this reality, Jameson operates TheDailyBugle.net, a sensationalist news website rather than a newspaper, and he aired the doctored footage that put together by Mysterio’s allies that framed Holland’s Spidey for the Elemental attack in London and revealed his secret identity. As you can see, Simmons was surprised by the ways they were going to modernize Jameson, but he still agreed to shoot that brief scene. Simmons continued:
We were shooting a day or two later, and we shot it in somebody’s office. It wasn’t on a stage. It happened fast. I honestly think they didn’t have time to get a wig made. I think it may have come down to that. I just pitched, ‘I want to have the same color thing going on. I really would like to keep the mustache, keep the cigar. I mean, it’s the same character, right? It’s the same vibe.’ And they went, ‘Oh yes, absolutely, absolutely, absolutely.’ So we made that compromise, and I need to ask that question someday. They probably wouldn’t admit it.
Following his return in Spider-Man: Far From Home, more footage of J. Jonah Jameson blabbing about Spider-Man was shown in Venom: Let There Be Carnage and The Daily Bugle web series, and then J.K. Simmons had a slightly expanded role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Simmons has talked before about how he fought to make sure his Jameson retained the mustache and cigar, and while the former remained intact, we still haven’t seen him puffing the latter. Maybe if he’s brought back for Spider-Man 4 (which Jon Watts isn’t expected to direct), a little screen time can be carved out for him to enjoy a cigar. As for Simmons’ theories about the MCU’s Jameson being bald because they didn’t have enough time to make him a wig, I too am curious to learn if that’s true, but it’s a moot point now. There’s no going back this blowhard being bald.
You can revisit J.K. Simmons’ Spider-Man: Far From Home cameo with a Disney+ subscription, and Spider-Man: No Way Home can be streamed on Starz. Otherwise, read our upcoming Marvel movies and upcoming Marvel TV shows guides to see what’s on the MCU horizon.
