Kevin Feige Sets The Record Straight On SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME’s Biggest Surprise
Final Warning: This post contains Spider-Man: Far From Home spoilers.
In a new interview with Screen Rant, Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige has unequivocally cleared up any lingering doubts you may've had about Spider-Man: Far From Home's extremely surprising mid-credits cameo. Y'know, the one where J.K. Simmons suddenly appears onscreen as J. Jonah Jameson (the character Simmons played for years in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies) and, in a moment that feels a bit like a Bizarro World callback to Iron Man's "I am Iron Man" beat, reveals Spider-Man's secret identity to the entire world.
This moment's something of a shocker! Not only have the tables been turned on Tom Holland's Peter Parker, but now J.K. Simmons is back in the MCU...playing the same character he played years ago...but now it's a completely different guy. The obvious answer is that it's simply the same actor playing two different versions of the same character, but that didn't prevent fans from spinning elaborate multiverse theories around Simmons' surprise appearance. According to Feige, those theories are inaccurate.
Here's what he said (as quoted by The Playlist):
“The thing is, JK Simmons is such a versatile actor. Look at what he’s done over the years since his iconic portrayal of this character in the Sam Raimi films. And then all of his work, Whiplash being one of the biggest ones.
It can be the same actor with that somewhat similar voice inflection, but with a totally different persona. That had never been done before. We really liked the idea that it’s a new Jameson, he’s not from another dimension or multiverse or something like that. It’s a new Jameson in this world played by the same actor.”
Yes, it turns out that the simplest answer was the correct one: same actor, different versions of the same character. Not a multiverse thing. Not an extradimensional thing. Just one stone-cold national treasure (J.K. Simmons) being brought back to play the character only he could play, with the added twist that the character is now a loud, internet-based conspiracy monger (we've heard those exist) rather than a newspaper editor. We are more than okay with is.
Anyway, you have now been enlightened by Feige himself. Do with that information what you will, and stay tuned for more on the MCU as further updates become available.
