By Jake Gyllenhaal is one of the few remaining actors yet to jump on the money machine of superhero franchises, but not for long, if reports the actor is circling the role of Spider Man's nemesis Mysterio are to be believed.
The Hollywood Reporter says: "Gyllenhaal has an interesting history with Spider-Man. Original Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire injured his back while shooting 2003's Seabiscuit in between Sam Raimi's Spider-Man (2002) and Spider-Man 2 (2004), and Gyllenhaal was briefly considered to take over the role if Maguire could not resume his duties. Maguire was able to return to work, and the filmmakers put a joke about Spider-Man hurting his back into the sequel."
"Tom Holland starred as the Marvel hero in Spider-Man: Homecoming and recently appeared in Avengers: Infinity War. Jon Watts is returning to direct the sequel to Homecoming, which earned $880 million worldwide. Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, two of the screenwriters behind the first movie, are back as well."
Gyllenhaal, who recently appeared in Okja and Nocturnal Animals, has previously defended the genre to sceptics. "Superhero movies have inspired me," he said in 2016. "I remember when I saw Thor, I was really inspired. There’s a reason for myth. They are so moving and so important…. Sometimes I'm in a scene playing what people might interpret as a sociopath and I’m thinking of Thor."
He also spoke of his role as Boston bombing survivor Jeff Bauman as a superhero role saying, "I've been asked over my career, in interviews, 'We hear you almost played this superhero ...when are you going to make a superhero movie?' I feel like I finally kind of have."
