Say what you will about Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst or any of the villains, the one casting choice that every Spider-Man fan adored in Sam Raimi's films was J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson. The man had the perfect look, demeanor and voice for the character and provided many of the films funniest moments. Sadly, with the word "reboot" comes total cast overhaul and not even the most perfect members are safe.
What's Playing reports that director Marc Webb has begun his search for the new Jameson and a few names have leaked out. According to the site, the production is currently looking at John Slattery, best known as Roger Sterling on Mad Men, and the awesomely-mustached Sam Elliot. Funny enough, both actors have experience acting in Marvel superhero movies, the former playing Robert Downey Jr.'s father, Howard Stark, in Iron Man 2 and the latter taking on the role of the Caretaker in Fox's Ghost Rider and General Ross in Ang Lee's Hulk. Webb and crew will be auditioning actors over the coming weeks, meaning that we should be hearing more about it fairly soon.
As great as Slattery is on Mad Men, he simply comes across as too cool, calm, and collected to play the frantic and angry Daily Bugle editor. Elliot has that edge that Slattery is missing, but I can't help but think that his version of the character couldn't help but have a dose of cowboy in it, which I don't see working. The real problem here is that when I say that J.K. Simmons was perfect, I mean it. There's no actor better suited for the role and anyone they pick will be a downgrade.
