Spider-Man: No Way Home Star J.K. Simmons Was Shocked When Asked to Return as J. Jonah Jameson

By Russ Burlingame

Fans may think of Spider-Man actor J.K. Simmons as the only choice to play J. Jonah Jameson, but the actor did not think it was going to happen again after Sam Raimi's original trilogy wound up. Speaking last night at the premiere of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Simmons admitted that he expected the role would be recast when Spider-Man: Homecoming rebooted the franchise, and was just as surprised as fans were to learn that he was being brought in to reprise his famous role in the post-credits scene to Spider-Man: Far From Home in 2019.

Speaking on the red carpet last night, Simmons admitted that his initial reaction was shock, but that he was glad to be back, and also excited that Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is back with Marvel again, helming the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel. Raimi's fingerprints are all over No Way Home, not just because Simmons and other Raimi characters are returning, but because Doctor Strange plays a key role in the movie.

"Total shock," Simmons told Variety, affecting a British accent and suppressing a smile. "Truly, initially, because I figured we did the Sam Raimi trilogy, it was brilliant, it was great, it was wonderful, and then they moved on. I thought, that was great, and bye-bye. And here I'm back. And Sam is back in the Marvel Universe as well with Doctor Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness]. It's beautiful."

You can see the clip below.

In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) will square off against villains from the franchise's past -- but not against ones he has seen before. On December 17th, Spider-Man will battle the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe, Spider-Man), Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina, Spider-Man 2), Electro (Jamie Foxx, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), and more.   

Following the events of Avengers: Endgame, Loki, and What If...?, Marvel's multiverse seems to be more wide open than ever before, and that has some fans expecting to see Garfield's Spider-Man, as well as Tobey Maguire's, share the screen with Holland. Following the commercial success of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, there's hardly a more commonsense character for Marvel to begin exploring its infinite Earths with. 

Starring Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, Jamie Foxx, Alfred Molina, and Benedict Cumberbatch, Sony and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home is scheduled to open in theaters on December 17.

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