Jake Gyllenhaal? Negotiating Villain Role For ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ Follow-Up

Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to play the classic Marvel villain Mysterio in the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming. This will be the first time the acclaimed actor will tackle a film based on a popular comic series.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Spider-Man creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko introduced the character of Mysterio in 1964. A special effects expert, Quentin Beck [Mysterio] used his talents of creating illusions to commit crimes and fight Spider-Man. The character of Quentin dreamed of making a name for himself in the film industry.

He saw his career in the special effects industry as a dead-end job and his attempts at acting were headed nowhere. He soon realized that his expertise in illusions would work to his advantage in a more devious line of work. Quentin soon became a supervillain and one of Spider-Man’s rivals.

Director Jon Watts is returning to helm the sequel to Homecoming, which earned $880 million worldwide.

Screenwriters Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers are returning to pen the next installment as well, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Michael Keaton will be back to reprise his role of Vulture, and Tom Holland is returning to play Peter Parker. Zendaya and Marisa Tomei are also reprising their roles for the sequel.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Jake was almost cast to play the pivotal role of Spider-Man in the original films.

Original Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire had injured his back during the filming of Seabiscuit between Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004). Jake was considered to take over the role if Tobey could not return. Tobey healed well enough to resume the character he had so carefully crafted.

Jake is currently filming Dan Gilroy’s horror thriller, Velvet Buzzsaw.

Variety reported that the actor had several projects to work on this year, but when some of them were pushed back, it opened a window for him to take a key role in the Spider-Man franchise.

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Jake Gyllenhaal was most recently seen in the Sundance film, Wildlife. He will also be featured in the western, The Sisters Brothers, opening later in 2018.

Sony and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel is set for July 5, 2019. Plot details for the film are still unknown at this time.