The next villain Spidey will take on has been announced, and a popular celebrity is in talks to take on the role.
The Hollywood Reporter announced that actor Jake Gyllenhaal is currently in talks to play Marvel villain Mysterio in the next Spider-Man film. Gyllenhaal is best known for starring in films such as, Donnie Darko and Nightcrawler.
For those who aren’t familiar with the webslinger’s rich history of antagonists, Mysterio is one of Spider-Man’s oldest villains. He was created in 1964 by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appearing in issue # 13 of The Amazing Spider-Man. Several people have taken up the mantle of Mysterio, but the first one to do so was Quentin Beck. Beck was a former special effects artist who utilized his experience to create illusions and gadgets to commit crimes around New York City.
This actually won’t be Gyllenhaal’s first brush with the webslinger in cinema; He almost replaced Tobey Maguire in 2004’s Spider-Man 2. The story goes that Maguire claimed he was suffering from a back injury and Sony called his bluff, fired him, and had talks with Gyllenhaal to replace him. Maguire was eventually able to take his role back, after many apologies, and the rest was history.
So far, there is very little information on the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. Tom Holland will reprise his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and the director from the first picture, Jon Watts, will return for the sequel. Two screenwriters from the first film, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, will return for the sequel as well.
Sony’s sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming will release on July 5, 2019.
