Over the years, JK Simmons has become synonymous with the Spider-Man movies. Originally playing the part of the hot-headed Daily Bugle editor J Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s trilogy in 2002, and then later in the MCU opposite Tom Hollands wallcrawler in 2019, he is pretty much an irreplaceable fixture at this point. So much so that The Amazing Spider-Man movies, starring Andrew Garfield, didn’t have the character at all.
Directed by Mark Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man movies are often the most criticised out of all the peter parker films in the MCU timeline. And let’s be honest, some of that reason is down to the fact that they didn’t feature the fan favourite character J Jonah Jameson. To make matters worse, it turns out that Simmons did initially announce that he was open to joining the new flicks after his run opposite Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi’s 2000s movies.
In 2012, when the star was asked if he would consider crossing over universes and playing the part of the daily bugle editor in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Simmons responded positively. “Oh, I’m open to anything,” he explained during a press tour for the ABD show Family Tools (Via Crave Online). “Obviously, that was enormous fun playing that character. A big part of the fun was doing it with Sam and with Tobey.”
“I don’t even know tonally how different it may or may not be,” he continued. “I’m a fan of the actors, the director and everything else. Yeah, I’m always open.”
Although Simmons didn’t end up in the film (tragic, we know), it seems like Webb agreed with the general public consensus that only he could play the part of J Jonah Jameson. As such, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 never recast Simmons, leaving an angry journalistic void in the Marvel movie.
Luckily, Simmons has since reprised the role of the editor, appearing in the flick, Spider-Man: Far from Home, where he exposed Peter Parker’s identity. He also made an appearance in the sequel No Way Home, and had his own spin-off TV series titled, The Daily Bugle, as well.
Who knows? Maybe if The Amazing Spider-Man 3 ever gets made, he will get his shot at that particular universe again too. Either way, J Jonah Jameson hasn’t had any trouble sticking around.