Despite there being two hours of web-swinging action preceding it, there’s only one Spider-Man: Far From Home scene everyone’s talking about. No spoilers (yet, though there will be below), but the Spider-Man: Far From Home post-credits scene shakes up the MCU in a big way and, yes, even marks the return of a fan-favourite character thanks to a surprise cameo.
But why was [SPOILER] introduced at that moment? And why was that actor picked for the role? Director Jon Watts recently answered those two questions and gave a peek behind the curtain regarding the coming together of that must-see moment.
Yep. J.K. Simmons is back as J. Jonah Jameson. This time around, he’s given shock jock/TV personality (not dissimilar to a certain alt-right presenter) during the after-credits stinger. But it’s still the same JJJ (who probably wants an unhealthy amount of Spider-Man pictures) that we all know and love.
So, what was the thought process behind the re-introduction of Simmons as Daily Bugle editor J. Jonah Jameson? The foundation for the moment was Marvel’s insistence that Spider-Man’s secret identity be made public in Spider-Man Far From Home.
Watts told Polygon: “We always knew we wanted Spider-Man’s identity to be revealed. It felt like it had to be on some sort of news outlet. And then you start talking about, ‘Well, what is the main news outlet in Spider-Man’s world?’ And it’s always been The Daily Bugle,” the director said. “And when you start talking about The Daily Bugle, you start talking about J. Jonah Jameson.”
Pretty straightforward, then. So, too, was the decision to bring J.K. Simmons back: “We thought if we’re going to have J. Jonah Jameson, it had to be J.K. Simmons…There was never any discussion about it being anyone else because it just wouldn’t have felt right,” explained the Far From Home director.
Moving forward, Watts may have also given us a peek at what to expect from the Daily Bugle editor. He said that “[Simmons’ performance] isn’t dramatically different from what it was like in the Raimi films.”
Looking for the same old JJJ? We’ve got him – let’s hope he makes the jump to the digital age with the just the right amount of bluster and blowhard behaviour as he did back in the Tobey Maguire days.
