Actor hints at a return for the blowhard Bugle bigwig.
By Brandon Wolfe
Despite the wildly uneven quality of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, the one thing pretty much everyone can agree upon is that J.K. Simmons’ performance as J. Jonah Jameson was terrific. Simmons’ interpretation of Peter Parker’s blustery Daily Bugle boss was so memorable that the creators of the Andrew Garfield Spidey reboot films notably did not use the character, presumably in a tacit acknowledgment of how unfillable those shoes were. Simmons owned that character to such a fundamental extent that replacing him seems unfathomable in a way that wasn’t even true of Spider-Man himself.
Fans have often stated that they would be totally fine with Simmons reprising his role as Jameson in future Spider-Man films otherwise unconnected to Raimi’s troika, not unlike how Dame Judi Dench was kept on as M in Casino Royale in spite of the rebooted timeline, and now that might actually come to pass. While being interviewed by Howard Stern last week, the question of ever appearing in a future Spider-Man film was posed to the actor, prompting this response: "I just heard that we...that's a possibility." When Stern then asked if Simmons would be willing to revisit the role, the actor replied, "Absolutely."
While certainly encouraging, the question remains of what sort of Spider-Man film Simmons would ultimately find himself in, given the muddled state of flux in which the franchise presently resides. Would it be a third film in the Garfield series? One of the rumored spin-off features from Sony centering around characters such as Venom or the Sinister Six? A reverse reboot back to the Tobey Maguire films? Or would Simmons take up the role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe should the rights wind up back in their possession, as rumors have persistently hinted at. Impossible to say right now, but the possibility that Simmons may again chomp on a cigar and bellow at Parker is cause for celebration.
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