After playing Peter B. Parker in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, Jake Johnson is headed back to network television. No, New Girl isn't getting a revival, but the former star will head back to network television for a new series alongside another television veteran turned movie star, Cobie Smulders. Johnson is set to co-star in the comic book adaptation of Stumptown, which is due to arrive on ABC in the fall.
As for how he'll be involved, Jake Johnson has been cast in the role of Grey McConnell. McConnell is the best friend of Cobie Smulders' Dex Parios, an Army veteran turned private investigator who often finds herself in front of some bad criminals. As for McConnell, TVLine reports he's a bar owner with a shady past and some unresolved feelings for Dex that they both need to work out. Johnson will be a series regular on Stumptown.
Jake Johnson's casting comes after the actor who was originally set to play Grey McConnell, Mark Webber, was dropped from the series. As mentioned, Johnson will join Cobie Smulders and the rest of a talented cast that includes Almost Human's Michael Ealy and The Practice's Camryn Manheim, just to name a few.
The interesting bit about Jake Johnson's latest role isn't that it's another comic book inspired role, but that he's once again playing a character caught in a romantic predicament. While we don't know how serious the feelings between them will be right out of the gate, it does appear there will be some sort of romantic storyline in which Stumptown viewers will wonder if the two will ever get together.
There's an assumption that Stumptown will have a romantic spin anyway, as Jake Johnson's casting has not been without controversy. Mark Webber took to Twitter in early May when he found out he was being recast and, as one may expect, he wasn't too happy. According to Webber, he lost the job due to executives thinking he wasn't handsome enough for the role.
Mark Webber later added that he had no ill will towards Cobie Smulders, Michael Ealy, or anyone other actor or crew working on Stumptown and wished them all success. Webber hasn't commented on Jake Johnson's casting at the time of writing, and judging from his lack of talking about it since then, one wouldn't expect him to.
The role in Stumptown is just the latest for Jake Johnson, who has been seeing a steady stream of Hollywood roles ever since his time on New Girl. He's bounced between the world of film and television quite skillfully since New Girl's ending, but could be on lockdown for any major roles in movies in the near future if Stumptown takes off at ABC. Until then, we can at least expect to see him in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse's sequel, right?
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Stumptown will arrive on ABC in the fall, and while an exact date isn't known, it's being said it will air at 10:00 p.m. ET. Stick with CinemaBlend for more details on its development, and more news in the world of film and television.
