Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Confirms One Character Is The Same in Every Universe

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released in theaters this weekend, and it’s a huge hit at the box office. The movie sees the return of Miles Morales (Shamiek Moore), Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld), and Peter B. Parker (Jake Johnson) in addition to a new line-up of Spider-People as they go on a multiverse-fueled adventure that’s filled with big twists and turns. There are also some exciting surprises in the new animated sequel, including a few unexpected cameos. There’s one voice that Marvel fans will instantly recognize, which pretty much confirms that there is one Spidey staple who is the same in every universe: JK Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson.

Simmons first played the role of Peter Parker’s Daily Bugle boss in the Tobey Maguire-led Spider-Man in 2002. The actor went on to play the character in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3, and fans were delighted when he returned to the role in the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019 before returning again in Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021. Once Simmons joined the MCU, it was clear that no one else could ever play J. Jonah Jameson like him, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse cemented his place in the multiverse. Simmons’ voice is heard a couple of times in the movie in different universes, which leads us to believe he is the one and only JJJ.

You can first hear Simmons on Earth 65, Gwen Stacy’s universe, talking about how Spider-Woman is a menace to society (surprise, surprise). The character also appears in the LEGO universe saying lines from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy before he’s heard again toward the end of the movie on Earth 42, where Miles ends up. In Simmons’ final moment of the film, he teases the infamous gang of villains, “The Sinister Six Cartel.”

JK Simmons on Being Cast As J. Jonah Jameson: 

Back in 2021, Simmons shared the hilarious story of how he originally found out he was cast as the Marvel character.

“Getting the call itself was an interesting thing. I was at a voiceover audition at Grey Advertising, and—you know—doing that thing that journeyman actors do a lot,” Simmons said in an interview with The Ringer. “You’re doing your gig here, you’re doing your gig there, you’re auditioning for this or that. You sit in the waiting room, you wait your turn, you chat with the other guys, then someone comes to check our name off the list, ‘JK, come on back to the recording booth.’ Going back to the recording booth, you weave through some of the cubicles at Grey Advertising, one of the biggest advertising agencies in New York.”

He continued, “I’m walking and following this person through the cubicles and this desk chair comes flying out in front of me backwards with some kid who was probably 28, and he goes, ‘Oh my God! JK, congratulations!’ And I go, ‘Thank you! For what?’ And he goes, ‘Are you kidding me? Spider-Man! I can’t believe it. J. Jonah Jameson! That’s so cool,’ and I was like, ‘I did not know that,’” the actor added. “I found out I got that part because of some kid who was so connected to the internet fan sites, that they had that information on a Spider-Man website before my agent called me to tell me I got the job. He called me like three hours later.”

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is now playing in theaters.