Why J. Jonah Jameson Is Bald In Spider-Man: Far From Home

J.K. Simm0ns has revealed the reason why J. Jonah Jameson is bald in his cameo in Spider-Man: Far From Home. Simmons immortalized the role of the resilient and tyrannical Daily Bugle editor-in-chief in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy from 2002-2007.  The Jameson in those films was a faithful reconstruction of the character from the comic books, as were the versions of him that appeared in various animated adaptations over the years. A carefully styled and colored hairpiece adorned Simmons’s head, complemented with a lit cigar in his mouth as he loudly demanded pictures of Spider-Man.

Simmons apparently loved playing the role, with reports even stating he’d appear in the now-canceled third installment of Marc Webb’s reboot The Amazing Spider-Man (though the character only “appeared” as an angry email response sent to Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man 2). However, when fans stuck around for the Spider-Man Far From Home post-credits scene, they were treated to a delightful surprise. Simmons returned to the role, giving Jameson – and the Daily Bugle – a more radical edge, and yet that’s not the only change that fans seemed to have noticed.

In a recent interview for Collider, the Oscar winner revealed the reason why J. Jonah Jameson was noticeably bald, and it’s more of a creative decision than a one made on a whim. Because Simmons was attached to the role he played so well, he had long discussions (and disagreements) with Marvel on how he wanted MCU Jameson to be different from Raimi’s Jameson.

“The only thing we didn’t a hundred percent see eye to eye on, I think, was how much is this character going to be the character from, I think, the comic books and from the Sam Raimi original trilogy, and how much do we want to evolve it and to have it be more contemporary or more… you know. I was very attached to what I had done previously for a variety of reasons. So I guess the compromise ended up being no hair. [laughter] Which I think honestly, that decision might’ve just been them going, ‘We don’t have time to make a wig. We got to shoot him tomorrow in the office.’ So, J. Jonah Jameson either lost his hair in the last few years, or he was wearing a hairpiece the whole time. I don’t know, you pick.”

This new, bald, Jameson does strike audiences as a completely different Jameson, even if it’s still Simmons behind the role. The result is a fringe media/conspiracy theorist/vlogger which probably isn’t the Jameson we thought of or even expected to appear, but it’s the type that make sense, especially given his narrative as the “breaking news” reporter that outs Spider-Man’s identity.

Marvel updating the Jameson character shouldn’t really come as a shock. Because audiences are so used to seeing the type of classic incarnations of Spider-Man characters, it’s refreshing when the universe is given a good old shake-up. The best-known example is changing Mary Jane “MJ” Watson to Michelle “MJ” Jones and casting Zendaya in the part. MCU Jameson isn’t the Jameson fans have grown to love, and neither is his media company, the Daily Bugle, a respected newspaper from a bygone era now a shock-jock, InfoWars-esque site.

Yet, fans shouldn’t worry that MCU films – in particular those featuring shock-jock Jameson – will be hitting too close to home. It’s important to note that the same fans who shrieked when they saw Simmons in that post-credits scene are the same fans who obviously watched him in Raimi’s films. Marvel is having fun with its eclectic fan base, making tongue-in-cheek references to relate those who were around when the superhero movie craze began.

Source: Collider

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