While Marvel's plans beyond next May's still-untitled fourth Avengers movie are largely unknown, we do know that the sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming will arrive a couple of months later. Tom Holland will return as Spidey, and it has now been reported that Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to play the movie's villain.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to appear as the classic Marvel supervillain Mysterio. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, and is closely associated with Spider-Man, first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #13 back in 1964. He has also appeared as a major villain in Daredevil comics.
Gyllenhaal is best known for roles in movies such as Donnie Darko, Prisoners, Brokeback Mountain, and Nightcrawler. Although the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel will be his first superhero movie, there were rumors last year that he was being lined to take over the role of Batman from Ben Affleck in the DC universe. However, he subsequently denied this was the case. Gyllenhaal was also close to being cast in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 back in 2004, after star Tobey Maguire attempted to negotiate a higher salary for himself.
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 hits theaters on July 5, 2019, with Jon Watts returning as director. Although no further casting or plot details are known, last year Marvel boss Kevin Feige did talk about how the movie will kickstart the next phase of the MCU after Avengers 4.
"So much happens in [the third and fourth Avengers movies], as you can imagine, and so much is affected by it, that we felt what better person to hold your hand and lead you into the next incarnation of the MCU, in a grounded, realistic manner, than Peter Parker?" Feige said. "So, coming out two months after Untitled Avengers, [that's what] much of what the next Spider-Man film will be about."
