**Spoilers for “Spider-Man: Far From Home.” For real, if you haven’t seen the film, you don’t want to know about this.”
**Seriously**
**Okay, you were warned…**
Arguably, there are more shocks and surprises in “Spider-Man: Far From Home” than any previous Marvel Studios film, including “Avengers: Endgame.” With the reveal of Jake Gyllenhaal’s Quentin Beck having ulterior motives to MJ finding out Peter’s identity, ‘Far From Home’ is jam-packed with moments that will make audiences go, “holy shit!” But perhaps the biggest, and best, reveal of them all is in the first of two post-credits scenes.
In the scene, we discover that Mysterio had a backup plan that is sure to change the entire trajectory of ‘Spider-Man’ films from here on out, as Peter Parker is revealed to be the man under Spidey’s mask. And in absolutely perfect fashion, the news was delivered by none other than J. Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons, who portrayed the character famously in the Sam Raimi trilogy.
So, how the hell did that come about? How did Marvel Studios keep such a casting and scene under wraps? Well, since the film is now in theaters, director Jon Watts discusses the lengths they went to keep the secret. In our interview with the director, Watts talked about the idea of bringing Simmons and J. Jonah Jameson into the MCU.
“It was never a question, honestly,” said the director. “We wanted to do that and [Simmons] was the only choice ever. So, it was really just down to whether or not he wanted to do it or not and if he didn’t want to play the part, we wouldn’t have done it. He is J.Jonah Jameson, there is no other.”
Additionally, thanks to Collider, Watts explains how the studio kept the scene and casting quiet.
“So we waited until the very, very last second and called [Simmons] up, and he came by and he was, ‘Wait, what? You want me to do what?’ It took him a second to understand, but as we pitched the idea he was totally on board and he really loved getting to be the person who finally outs Peter Parker,” said Watts.
READ MORE: ‘Spider-Man’ Swings Into Record Books With Massive Holiday Opening [Box Office]
Now, for many people, Simmons’ casting is just a fun nod to the original trilogy and uses arguably one of the best aspects of Raimi’s films. For others, the idea that the same actor is playing the same character in two iterations of ‘Spider-Man,’ the idea of a connected Spidey universe comes into play. Is the Raimi universe connected to the MCU?
“Definitely it raises some very interesting questions,” teased the director. “I don’t know that I have answers for them just yet. But, yeah, it does open up some strange possibilities by having him be the same person.”
When asked if he’s discussed this idea with Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, the director said that he’s not allowed to say, but “all options are on the table.” Whatever that means.
Multiverse or not, it’s now canon that J. Jonah Jameson (and the Daily Bugle) are in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Marvel Studios did the best possible introduction of the character and actor.
“Spider-Man: Far From Home” is in theaters now.