What do you do when you can’t find an actor good enough to portray J. Jonah Jameson, the ever-angry editor of the Daily Bugle and boss to Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man? You bring back the irreplaceable J.K. Simmons, of course. Simmons gained a lot of attention for his portrayal of the character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, and Sony is keen to bring him back for the new Spider-Man films.
For those of you who stuck around for the post-credit scene of last year’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, you know that Simmons is already back in the saddle. In this new trilogy, The Daily Bugle seems to be more of an online muckraker: TheDailyBugle.net. Simmons returned to the franchise to deliver the movie’s big twist: before he died, Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed Spider-Man as the villain, with Jameson gleefully calling for the city to turn on the hero. Peter’s about to have a very hard time.
Some fans figured that including Simmons was just a nod to the earlier Spider-Man movies, but it looks like it could be something more. Speaking to SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Simmons revealed that he has already filmed another scene as J. Jonah Jameson, and that there are more planned for later:
"Well yeah, [I’ll be back as Jameson] that’s the short answer. There is a future for J. Jonah Jameson after a several-year hiatus. He showed up very briefly for those who were wise enough to stay through the credits of Far From Home. … There is one more JJJ appearance in the can, and from what I’m hearing there’s a plan for yet another. So hopefully JJJ will continue now and forever."
If he’s already filmed another scene as Jameson, it’s possible he could appear in the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe, outside just the Spidey movies. Might he appear as a TV pundit in Black Widow, which is slated to release later this year after being delayed? Then there’s The Eternals, which was set to release in November before being pushed back to February. Another movie that began filming before the COVID-19 lockdown was Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
It’s also possible he could turn up in some of the MCU shows coming to Disney+, like The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and WandaVision, but I think it’s more likely he’ll be in a movie. Wherever he shows up, it’s very cool to have J.K. Simmons back as J. Jonah Jameson!
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