Doctor Strange’s relationship with Spider-Man has come full circle. In Sam Raimi’sSpider-Man 2, released in theaters in 2004, J. Jonah Jameson (J. K. Simmons) is speaking with Hoffman (Ted Raimi) while brainstorming ideas for what to call Doctor Octopus. At one point, Hoffman suggests the name of “Doctor Strange,” to which Jameson replies, “That’s pretty good, but it’s taken!”
At the time, this was probably just a way of Raimi acknowledging the Doctor Strange character, unaware that he’d one day be directingDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Still, given the events ofSpider-Man: No Way Home, the Doctor Strange reference becomes much more intriguing. Previously uploaded to YouTube, the video has recently been getting shared on social media, while others have been remarking in the YouTube comments section how the scene just feels different after watchingSpider-Man: No Way Home.
Jameson’s comments also seem to suggest that Doctor Strange has a presence in Raimi’sSpider-Manuniverse, but he’s not as well known as the titular web-slinger. It even seems that it takes Jameson a moment to remember the name of Doctor Strange before recalling that the name’s in use. Could Raimi have been planting the seeds for Doctor Strange to even make an appearance in the director’s canceledSpider-Man 4?
While we’re in a different universe now, with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, J. K. Simmons is still playing J. Jonah Jameson. Jameson was the one who outed Parker’s true identity to the world, igniting the world-changing events that occur inSpider-Man: No Way Home.He might be a variant, but Simmons has said how he sees the character as “the same blowhard” as he was in the Raimi trilogy. The actor has also explained how he insisted onkeeping Jameson’s trademark mustachefor his return.
“[They said] ‘No, we don’t want you to have the flat-top haircut,’ and I was like, ‘Wait, wait, wait. What?’ It was a negotiation then at that point,” Simmons said on theHappy Sad Confused podcast. “Obviously, the most important thing is that he’s still the same blowhard and he does have the same damn mustache, close to it, and cigar at least.”
He added, “[It’s a] slightly different version… Certainly, from the creators of this iteration of the story, it’s a very different character. To me, it’s a slightly different character. It’s the same blowhard… the same guy with less hair.”
As seen in the movie’s marketing, Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock, who was given his nickname by Jameson, appears inSpider-Man: No Way Home, as does Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from the originalSpider-Manmovie. Bringing in villains from variantSpider-Manuniverses was a key part of the marketing and just a small part of all of the surprises that Marvel and Sony had in store for fans. We won’t get into spoilers here for those who have yet to see it, but the movie is leavingmost everyone who sees it satisfied.
