Marvel Cuts Major Face-Off from 'No Way Home'

Spider-Man: No Way Home was a monumental success for the Spider-Man franchise, Sony Pictures, and Marvel Studios’ Phase 4. The movie infused the right amount of heart, action and nostalgia to captivate viewers as it grossed $1.9 billion at the box office. No Way Home showcased a variety of iconic Spidey villains like Doc Ock, Green Goblin, Electro, The Lizard, and Sandman, but Marvel recently revealed concept art of Spider-Man coming face-to-face with his ultimate nemesis.

These art pieces will be part of the official “Spider-Man: No Way Home – The Art of the Movie” artbook that will provide fans with all the ideas and concepts conceived for the cinematic classic. The book will feature panels that include the legendary team-up between the three Spideys, the new redesigns of Spider-Man’s legendary villains and unused plot points that did not make the final cut.

One of the newly released art pieces is a series of abandoned storyboard sequences that had Peter Parker (Tom Holland) meeting his historic rival — J. Jonah Jameson, played by the incomparable J.K. Simmons. No Way Home planned to include lots of Multiversal hijinks in the film, including the appearance of this Marvel legacy actor.

While Marvel stars like Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Charlie Cox returned for the third installment, many fans were waiting for the reappearance of the mustache-wearing, Spider-Man-hating newsman. This anticipation was fueled after Simmons reprised the role at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. J. Jonah Jameson did have various moments throughout the super-powered sequel, but none that involved a direct interaction with the Web-Head.

The original sequence would have taken place in J. Jonah’s apartment with an unmasked Spider-Man interrupting him during a livestream of the Daily Bugle. This iteration of the conservative curmudgeon portrayed him living as a pack-rat with countless amounts of papers and documents towering towards his ceiling. Jameson stands to chastise Peter as he has revealed that he was streaming in his boxers.

This potentially hilarious moment was most likely never used due to time constraints. No Way Home was a hefty, 2.5 hour movie that was chuck full of content already. There is hope that the two will go toe-to-toe since the last movie wiped the slate clean of previous story arcs for Holland’s Spidey.

J.K. Simmons divulged last year that he believes he will play the loveable adversary in future MCU Spider-Man films. The fourth film could be the best chance to give Peter his photography job for the Bugle where he will ensue in comedic shenanigans with cigar-smoking, buzzcut-sporting cynic that wants the beloved “web-headed menace” behind bars.

Should this scene have been included in Spider-Man: No Way Home? Do you want to see J.K. Simmons back as J.J.?