Originally published July 2, 2019. Updated July 4, 2019.
Jake Gyllenhall makes his Marvel debut today as he takes on the role of iconic Spider-Man villain Mysterio in Marvel Studios’ Spider-Man: Far From Home.
However, the Oscar-nominated actor almost found himself a part of the Marvel universe much earlier, having been lined up as a potential replacement for Tobey Maguire in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 after Maguire reportedly suffered an injury on the set of Seabiscuit.
Speaking to Yahoo! (via CinemaBlend), Gyllenhaal addressed the situation, admitting that he was in the running for the role:
“The truth of the matter is, in the end, [Tobey Maguire is] Spider-Man. There are so many roles in my career where I was up against another actor, or there was something happened that possibly could’ve happened but didn’t happen but maybe it would have. Eventually my belief is when an actor’s played a character, particularly in a movie, the character’s theirs, and that’s that. But yeah there was talk, he hurt himself and there was talk. There was a slew of actors [possibly up for the part], and I was one of them.”
SEE ALSO: Marvel’s Kevin Feige says Spider-Man: Far From Home is “the true end of the Infinity Saga”
Do you think Gyllenhaal would have made a good replacement for Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or tweet us @FlickeringMyth…
Peter Parker returns in Spider-Man: Far From Home, the next chapter of the Spider-Man: Homecoming series! Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter’s plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent!
Spider-Man: Far From Home features the return of Tom Holland (Spider-Man), Marisa Tomei (Aunt May), Zendaya (Michelle), Jacob Batalon (Ned Leeds), Angourie Rice (Betty Brant), Tony Revolori (Flash Thompson), Martin Star (Mr. Harrington), Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury) and Cobie Smulders (Maria Hill), with Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler) as Mysterio.
