J.K. Simmons Confirms He’s Signed on for Future Spider-Man Films

This article contains spoilers for 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home

J.K. Simmons has revealed that he’s signed up to star in further Marvel-Sony Spider-Man movies as J. Jonah Jameson. The Oscar-winning actor famously reprised his role from Sam Raimi’s web-slinging trilogy in last summer’s MCU instalment, Spider-Man: Far From Home – albeit in a twisted new way, leaving hard copy behind and outing Peter Parker as Spider-Man on a live dailybugle.net stream during a mid-credits scene.

Likely due to a combination of iron-clad NDAs and uncertainly around the current industry timeline, Simmons says that both he and fans of the character should dial down their excitement for now, and when it comes to any of the planned Marvel movies in the pipeline, he doesn’t think we should necessarily expect to see Jameson pop up.

“I don’t know if I would use the word ‘expect’,” he said cagily in a new interview with PeopleTV’s Couch Surfing podcast. “When we signed on for the first movie, we signed a contract to do two sequels as well, which is always …that’s always a one-sided – not always, I guess, but in my case – a one-sided contract where you, y’know, you’re committed to do it, but they’re not necessarily committed to, y’know, use your character in the ensuing movies, so it’s great to have the opportunity, as these things evolve, to be one of the holdovers from the previous version.”

Simmons also recalled having to do an old school audition for the role of J. Jonah Jameson before originally being cast, despite being in the ‘club’ at the time – director Sam Raimi had recently worked with him in 2000’s The Gift, and he had also starred alongside Spider-Man actor Tobey Maguire in The Cider House Rules the year before that.

“The producers and the people at Sony, they needed to be convinced, because obviously, there were a lot of much more high-profile actors that they had in mind that would help with the box office,” Simmons explained. “It was very nerve-wracking.”

He added “It included a scene where the Green Goblin breaks through the windows and picks me up by the throat, lifts me up in the air, and is strangling me. I’m holding the script pages, reading the scene on the audition, but then at the same time, trying to…” [strangling noises] “…pretending I’m being lifted by the neck and choked.”

Simmons most recently appeared in Apple TV+’s Defending Jacob, sharing the screen with fellow Marvel stalwart and former Captain America, Chris Evans.

“My plan now – my career plan, now – is to play the father of every handsome, blue-eyed movie star stud named Chris. So I checked off my Chris Evans box and I’ve just finished a film with Chris Pratt where I play his father,” Simmons took a beat, before joking “Chris Pine …I’m available.”