Jake Gyllenhaal to play supervillain Mysterio in upcoming Spider-Man sequel
Spider-Man: Homecoming, the second reboot of the franchise, was received well by fans of the comic and grossed over $800 million worldwide. A sequel for the film has been in discussion since October 2016, even before the first film was released, and List now reports that Jake Gyllenhaal will be cast in the role of the primary antagonist for the movie.
The 37-year-old Academy Award-winning actor will be portraying Mysterio, a special effects wizard and stuntman working for a major Hollywood studio who uses his unique skill set to turn to a life of crime after his ambitions in acting crash and burn. The character was created by Marvel supremo Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and made its first appearance in issue#13 of the comic book in 1964.
Gyllenhaal was supposedly not the only one gunning for the role. Also in contention was Ryan Gosling, who reportedly could not confirm his availability due scheduling conflicts. The website cited a quote given to the Sun which claimed that "Producers were keen to sign Ryan but he was busy filming another project" and that "Jake is a suitable alternative with experience of playing villainous characters."
Mysterio will be going up against Tom Holland's Spider-Man, with the young actor set to reprise the iconic role in what will be his second standalone movie. Holland made his first appearance as the gun-slinging friendly-neighborhood superhero in 'Captain America: Civil War,' before going on to appear in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' and 'Avengers: Infinity War.'
The film series will reportedly follow the model of the 'Harry Potter' film series of having each film set in a different school year, with the upcoming sequel intending to follow Parker's junior year of high school. John Watts, who directed the first film, will be returning for the sequel, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers will return to pen the screenplay.
The filming for the sequel is scheduled to begin in July 2018 in London.