I was hoping
J.K. Simmons would pull a 'Judi Dench 007 reboot paradox' and find himself re-cast as J. Jonah Jameson (personally speaking, the closest on screen performance to a comic book counterpart I have ever seen) for the forthcoming
Spider-Man reboot, but sadly no -
Marc Webb has decided it's his prerogative to put together his own interpretation of Stan Lee's creations. Fair play I suppose. Though, they might well regret dumping Simmons. According to
What's Playing, Webb has suffered a few sleepless nights recently trying to decipher who should fill the editor-in-chief vacancy for The Daily Bugle. It's said he's now got a shortlist of 12 contenders, top of which include
John Slattery (Mad Men, Howard Stark in Iron Man 2) and
Sam Elliott (Ghost Rider, Hulk). After all, they are both men of a certain age with grey hair and the ability to grow a beard, so obviously they are in the mix for the cigar-chomping, loudmouth. Both actors are due to meet with Webb to discuss the role soon. Ironically, Sony casting director
Francine Maisler, who played a part in Simmon's original hiring for
Sam Raimi's franchise, is in charge of finding a replacement. Can she strike gold again?
Personally speaking - Elliott doesn't really feel right for the part but Slattery could do a good job with it. He's played variations of Jameson all his career, and has played characters who can put down people with simply a look, snear, growl or witty put down. Though he could just as easily play Perry White in the
Superman reboot (basically the same character but toned down) and in my rulebook - both of these actors should be dismissed outright because they already appeared in Marvel movies. Just bring back Simmons, and everyone will be happy.