When J.K. Simmons surprised us by showing up as J. Jonah Jameson at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, Marvel fans flipped their lids! It was great to see Simmons reprise his role again! I honestly wasn’t really expecting it because he had already played the character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, and this was a completely different take on the character. So, needless to say, it was super exciting to see him in the movie!
It was safe to assume at the time that we hadn’t seen the last of him. We know that he was going to show up in the third film. But, it turns out that Simmons is contracted to appear in multiple Spider-Man movies. During a recent interview with PeopleTV, Simmons was asked if fans can expect to see him in the next Spider-Man movie and this was his reply:
“I don’t know if I would use the word expect. When we signed on for the first movie we signed a contract to do two sequels as well. Which, that’s always a one-sided, well not always but in my case, a one-sided contract where you’re committed to do it but they’re not necessarily committed to use your character in the ensuing movies. It was great to have the opportunity as these things evolve to be one of the holdovers from the previous version.”
Simmons went on to talk about the process of originally auditioning for that part. Simmons had worked with Raimi before Spider-Man, but he explains that it took an “old-school, classic camera test” to win over the executives that were a bit skeptical of him being cast in the role:
“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. It was very nerve-wracking.
“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…(he makes a chocking noise here), “…pretending I’m being lifted by the neck and choked.”
Thankfully, it all worked out, and the studio saw the light and cast him in the role!