Jake Gyllenhaal’s name has circled superhero movies since the dawn of time. Way back when Spider-Man was new to the big screen, and Tobey Maguire got into a negotiation spat with producers, Gyllenhaal was reportedly tipped to take over as Peter Parker in case things went south with Maguire. More recently, there was a rumor he was the favorite to replace Ben Affleck when he inevitably quits being Batman (it turned out to not be true). And I’ve heard his name off and on throughout the years as Marvel has cast various roles. He’s one of the best actors of his generation, so it’s not surprising he’s in everyone’s fantasy casting draft. What is surprising is the comic book movie—more particularly the role—that has finally landed Jake Gyllenhaal. He’s in talks to play a villain in the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel. Which villain? This bubble-headed goofball, Mysterio.
I can’t get over it. After the years of dream-casting and speculation, Jake G is finally doing a superhero movie and he’s playing MYSTERIO. The guy has a f*cking fish bowl on his head. And inside that fish bowl will be JAKE GYLLENHAAL. Look, great actors have taken on silly characters for superhero movies. Hell, Michael Keaton made Vulture not ridiculous in Spider-Man: Homecoming (he’s reportedly returning for the sequel, which better be called Spider-Man: Prom). It’s just…he has a fish bowl head. I never really thought to see Mysterio in the movies because he’s just so stupid. His backstory is dumb: He’s a movie special effects guy who decides that’s not glamorous enough and so becomes a supervillain, deciding to pick on Spider-Man because he seems like a relatively easy target. And then there’s the whole fish bowl head thing.
But in a certain way, it makes perfect sense for Jake G to play Mysterio, a Grade A comic book weirdo. Since Prince of Persia didn’t work out back in 2010, Gyllenhaal has become synonymous with Hall of Fame weirdo performances, from Prisoners to Enemy to Nightcrawler to Okja. This is—and always has been—his best and most natural mode as an actor. So of course he’s going to play a bonkers weird supervillain. There’s a part of me that still wants to see Gyllenhaal play a hero—I maintain he’s aging into an interesting post-RDJ Tony Stark but at this rate there will never be a post-RDJ Tony Stark—but if he’s going to play a villain, then by all means, let him play the goofiest, weirdest villain in the books: FISH BOWL HEAD.
