J.K. Simmons Will Return As J. Jonah Jameson In Spider-Man 4

Actor J.K. Simmons has revealed to MTV that he will return to play the Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson in the fourth Spider-Man film. According to Simmons, the role will be similar in scope to that seen in the first three Spidey films:

We've definitely brainstormed ideas for Triple-J, but I have no desire to make Triple-J more of the focus of those movies. The amount that I did in 1, 2 and 3, is just exactly right. Like be the wolf. Come in, blow in, do a week, blow out, be the comic relief, and hit the road. And let Tobey and everybody else do the heavy lifting.

Simmons also revealed that shooting is scheduled to begin in 2010, meaning the film will probably be released in summer 2011.

I'm a huge fan of Mr. Simmons, all the way back to his Law & Order days, but I thought that his J. Jonah Jameson in the films was a bit too much of a caricature for my tastes. The Jameson from the comics always struck me as a bit more complex, tortured, and/or nuanced than the cartoon-like Jameson from Sam Raimi's series. None of that reflects on Simmons of course; I'm certain he'll continue to make the best out of what little he's given. But either way, it's not like audiences really seem to care about the quality of these films anyway.

Discuss: Are you looking forward to Spider-Man 4?