Spider-Man: Homecoming 2: Jake Gyllenhaal In Talks To Play Mysterio In The Sequel

Jake Gyllenhaal is reportedly in talks with Marvel and Sony to play the villain, Mysterio, in the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming 2.

Mysterio’s been a villain that I’ve wanted to see on the big screen ever since these Spider-Man movies began. I’m talking specifically about Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, not the ones made in the 70s and 80s starring Nicholas Hammond as Spider-Man. There were plans to bring the villain alongside the Vulture into Spider-Man 3, and he was going to be played by Bruce Campbell, but the studio decided against it.

However, it looks like Sony and Marvel Studios are looking to make Mysterio the villain in their follow-up to the hugely successful 2017 Spider-Man reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sony and Marvel are in talks with Jake Gyllenhaal to star as the villain. Gyllenhaal had been previously attached to Matt Reeves’ Batman movie, but if this Spider-Man movie deal goes through it might put a dent in our hopes of seeing the actor take on the iconic DC Comics superhero.

Tom Holland as Spider-Man in Homecoming.

Mysterio is a fascinating and slightly ludicrous Spider-Man villain. Not only does he wear a green spandex suit, long red cape, and what looks a lot like a goldfish bowl on his head, but his backstory is just as hilariously ridiculous. Before he became Mysterio, the villain was known as Quentin Beck, and he worked in Hollywood as a special effects guy and stuntman, but he knew that his days in this career were numbered. After a failed attempt to become an actor, Beck realised his special effects know-how would make him a rather formidable supervillain. And so, Mysterio was born.

In another intriguing twist, Gyllenhaal was initially lined up by Sony to replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man in the second Raimi movie after the actor supposedly injured his back while filming Seabiscuit. However, the rumour was that Maguire asked for too much money and quickly retracted his demand once he learnt that they were planning on replacing him. I wonder whether they’ll reference this if Gyllenhaal ends up starring in Jon Watt’s Spider-Man: Homecoming 2?

There are some exciting things you could do with the character, and it would be great to see what special effects he uses to bamboozle Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. There’s no news on what the sequel will be called. I highly doubt they’ll call it Spider-Man: Homecoming 2.

Spider-Man: Homecoming’s sequel is set to hit our screens on July 5th, 2019.