Spider-Man No Way Home: JK Simmons Opens Up About How Jameson Will Differ from His Previous Version
by Meenakshi | Fri, 26 Nov 2021 10:56:10 GMT
A Poster of Spider-Man: No Way Home star J.K. Simmons. Source: The Direct

Spider-Man: No Way Home star J.K. Simmons reveals how his character J. Jonah Jameson, set to appear in the Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios produced upcoming superhero film will be different from the version he previously played in Sam Raimi’s directed Spider-Man film series, as the fans and followers would recall that the actor also portrayed the editor-in-chief of the Daily Bugle, known for its harsh criticism directed towards the friendly neighborhood superhero Spider-Man, in the live-action Spider-Man franchise, where the character’s version was shown as a blustering, bombastic, obsessed, hyperactive man, a little bit different from the comic version that Marvel fans have seen over the years but at the same resonating some aspects. Simmons surprisingly returned to reprise the role of the Marvel hero after more than a decade in 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, in which at its end part he was seen exposing the web-crawler’s identity as none other than Peter Parker.

Simmons recently stop at the Happy Sad Podcast to have a conversation about the next month releasing Marvel movie, where he extensively spoke about how his character would be able to differentiate himself from his earlier version that the fans are familiar with and have enjoyed in all the three films of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man movies, who is also reportedly set appear in the movie, which would be like taking the game to next level as far as the superhero-based franchise Marvel Cinematic Universe is concerned while keeping in mind that the film already has a lot to offer in terms of the different and powerful villains that the web-slinger is going to take on, so it makes that in his journey, eventually leading to a big showdown, Tom Holland’s superhero could be accompanied by other versions of the Marvel hero like Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

"I think it’s a slightly different version, certainly from the creators of this current iteration of the story, it’s a very different character. To me, it’s a slightly different character. It’s the same blowhard, the same guy with less hair, and honestly, I kinda wish he still had the same hair, but I think the first time they asked me to do it, I assume it was kinda late notice decision on their parts to add Jameson because once they came and asked me to do it, it was like ‘Let’s sit down, let’s have a meeting with all the big wigs as Sony and talk about it,’ and, ‘Yes, ok,’ and, ‘Bang, Bang, Bang, the deal’s done and, you know, we’re shooting the day after tomorrow, and no we don’t want you to have the flat-top haircut,’ and I was like ‘wait, wait, wait, what?’ ‘Yeah, we don’t want the cigar and the mustache and the blah blah blah,’ and I was like, ‘That’s kinda the guy, you know?,’" JK Simmons said on the Happy Sad Podcast, explaining that while Marvel's heads have tried to give an entirely new direction to Jameson but according to him the Marvel character’s MCU version is “slightly different” because he still resonates all the aspects from his previous iteration. Simmons also recalled the story behind him being cast as Jameson in Spider-Man: Far From Home, remembering how instantly things took place between him and Sony and how he had to shoot his scene right the next day of the deal.

"So it was a negotiation then at that point, and obviously the most important part is that he’s still the same blowhard, and he does have the same damn mustache, or close to it, and cigar at least,” he adds, elaborating that although the character has changed but he still has “the same blowhard,” mustache and cigar.

He concluded, while fans and followers want to see a standalone movie centering around Jameson, he thinks that the Marvel hero is not someone who actually needs it. "And as is appropriate for that character, he’s just a little kind of comic relief thing that gets sprinkled lightly into the movie, and after the first two, especially with Sam, friends, and people in the business were like ‘Oh, they should do a movie about J. Jonah Jameson,’ and I always said “no, no, no.’"

In addition to J.K. Simmons in the role of Jameson, the complete cast list of Jon Watts' helmed Spiderman: No Way Home mostly has a lot of names who are returning with some newcomers who are also making their debut in MCU like Tom Holland in the role of Spider-Man, Zendaya in the role of MJ, Benedict Cumberbatch in the role of Doctor Strange, Jon Favreau in the role of Harold "Happy" Hogan, Jacob Batalon in the role of Ned Leeds, Marisa Tomei in the role of May Parker, J. B. Smoove in the role of Julius Dell, Alfred Molina in the role of Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus, and Jamie Foxx in the role of Max Dillon / Electro.

Spiderman: No Way Home hits the theatres on December 17, 2021. 

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