Once upon a time, Jake Gyllenhaal was being lined up to play Peter Parker in Spider-Man 2 due to Sony being in the midst of a contractual dispute with an injured Tobey Maguire. That obviously didn't pan out, but rumours have swirled about the possibility of him playing a superhero ever since, and he was said to be in the running to portray characters like Doctor Strange and Batman.
Now, he's set to take on the role of Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but what led to the actor finally making the decision to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
"He’s a great character…you know it was one of those things that people have asked me for a number of years, ‘Are you going to do / do you want to do a movie like that, or if you were asked to would you?’ And my response has always been, particularly since being at Sundance [where] so many of the stories [are]…character-driven and that has always been my desire, to find something in that space that seems to match my skill and also what I love and my own honesty. And it just so happened that it does with that part. So, I’m glad that people feel excited about it."
Gyllenhaal must have been impressed with the script to agree to playing Mysterio, especially as he's rarely dipped his toe into the world of blockbusters. Then again, no actor can ignore the fact that Marvel Studios consistently produces critically acclaimed movies and box office hits, so that no doubt influenced his decision as well.
Regardless, seeing him as Mysterio promises to be a lot of fun and Spider-Man: Far From Home is definitely better off for having such a great actor playing one of the wall-crawler's greatest foes.