Marvel Cinematic Universe actor J. K. Simmons isn’t quite ready to reveal whether he will be returning as Daily Bugle editor-in-chief J. Jonah Jameson for Spider-Man 4.
The actor first portrayed the fan-favorite Spider-Man character in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, appearing in all three installments that were released between 2002 and 2007. After Sony opted to exclude Jameson from the Andrew Garfield-led Amazing Spider-Man duology, the character returned for a memorable cameo in the second installment in Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, Far From Home (2019), with Simmons back in the role. The actor was then given a larger role in 2021’s Spider-Man: No Way Home.
During an interview with Screen Rant to promote Invincible Season 3, in which he voices Omni-Man, Simmons was asked if he will be in the untitled fourth MCU-set Spider-Man movie. “No spoilers. Sorry, I’m not telling,” Simmons replied with a chuckle.
The Spider-Man 4 cast remains sparsely populated
At the time of writing, Holland remains the only confirmed actor for Spider-Man 4, although Zendaya is reportedly expected to return as well as Michelle “MJ” Jones-Watson. However, with a mid-2025 production start window set for the new Spider-Man movie, casting announcements for the sequel should be on the horizon.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings filmmaker Destin Daniel Cretton has been hired to direct Spider-Man 4, succeeding Jon Watts who helmed the first three Holland-led Spider-Man movies. Cretton will be working from a screenplay written by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, who have scripted all the MCU-set Spider-Man movies.
While no major plot details for Spider-Man 4 have been revealed, franchise producer Amy Pascal confirmed in December 2024 that the movie will “deal with the fact that he decided he was going to give up being Peter Parker and he was gonna focus on being Spider-Man, because being Peter Parker was too hard.”
There have also been several rumors about who might appear in Spider-Man 4 for everyone from supervillains Mephisto and Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin to superheroes Daredevil and Black Cat.
Spider-Man 4 is scheduled to hit theaters on July 24, 2026, as part of Phase 6 of the MCU.
