MCU Spider-Man Movies Still Need To Payoff Far From Home's Best Setup
Spider-Man: Far From Home brought back a big character from Spider-Man's universe, but the movies haven't paid off this setup yet.
Spider-Man: No Way Home wasn’t the end for Tom Holland’s version of the web-slinger, as a new trilogy is reportedly in the works, and future Spider-Man movies need to pay off Spider-Man: Far From Home’s best setup: the return of J.K. Simmons’ J. Jonah Jameson. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been bringing different characters from Marvel Comics to the big screen, but some of them took some time to join this connected universe. Such is the case of Spider-Man, who after a deal between Sony and Marvel, finally debuted in the MCU in Captain America: Civil War and is part of both the MCU and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe.
After joining Team Iron Man, Holland reprised his role as Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, the last two being key in the history of the MCU. Far From Home closed the Infinity Saga and was the first look at the world post-snap and without Iron Man, and it showed the first hints of the multiverse and the concept of variants without these even being formally introduced yet. The post-credits scene in Far From Home was a turning point in Peter’s arc, as Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed him for his death and revealed his identity, and the one who shared the news was none other than J. Jonah Jameson, played once again by J.K. Simmons.
Before Far From Home, it was unknown if the MCU has its version of Jameson, but it was understandable that he hadn’t shown up as this version of Peter Parker is younger and isn’t working yet, instead focusing on surviving high school and his superhero duties. Jameson’s appearance at the end of Far From Home came as a huge surprise and made way for various possibilities for him in the MCU, and even though he returned in Spider-Man: No Way Home, he didn’t have a big presence, so among the many things that future Spider-Man movies need to do, is paying off Far From Home’s J. Jonah Jameson set up.
The new trilogy of Spider-Man movies is still in early stages of development, so at this point, Peter’s story could go in any direction. J.K Simmons has already teased his return to future Spider-Man movies, which is excellent news not only for fans but for Spider-Man as well as Jameson is an integral part of his story, and he can be a bigger presence following the events of No Way Home. At the end of the movie, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell that made everyone forget Peter Parker, and with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) now gone, Peter is all alone and ready to start a new life by himself. This can easily lead him to start working at The Daily Bugle (which in the MCU is an online news outlet), thus making Jameson an active part of Peter’s story and allowing the audience to see Simmons’ dynamic with Holland.
There’s a reason why J.K. Simmons was brought back to play J. Jonah Jameson, as his performance is widely popular and loved by fans of Spider-Man, so he shouldn’t be reduced to a fan-service addition and a post-credits surprise. The new Spider-Man trilogy can explore a variety of storylines now that Peter was given a new beginning, and one of its priorities should be paying off the J. Jonah Jameson set up from Far From Home.