Jake Gyllenhaal's Strange Fate With Spider-man: Auditioning Twice For Part 2 But Taking 16 Years To "Pass"

Salena Harshini |Jul 18, 2019

It was destined for "prince of Persia" Jake Gyllenhaal to star alongside Tom Holland instead of Tobey Maguire.

There is one thing that hardly anyone knows, that 16 years ago, Jake Gyllenhaal was once on the consideration to take on a role in part two of Spider-man (2004).

However, it is until 2019 that the time is actually ripe for the talented heartthrob. He has recently debuted in the MCU with his role as Quentin Beck (Mysterio) in Spider-man: Far From Home.

Jake Gyllenhaal
Jake Gyllenhaal

The almost-Peter-Parker in Spider-man 2

It was clear as crystal that destiny decided Jake Gyllenhaal be part of the second part in Spider-man franchise. In 2003, the then Tobey Maguire was making a mess of scandals with his gambling in Hollywood.

In spite of that, the movie producers still wanted to invite him back into Spider-man’s next part because the movie brand was very popular at that period. The cachet for Maguire came up to a staggering 4 million dollars. At first, the actor agreed to the proposal.

Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire as Spiderman

However, as reported by the ScreenRush, Tobey then sent his neurosurgeon to announce that the actor had suffered serious back injury after playing in Seabiscuit (2003). Therefore, he could no longer do the complex action stunts planned for Spider-man.

Studio Sony immediately gathered Tobey Maguire, director Sam Raimi and producer Laura Ziskin for a meeting. Knowing Toby Maguire’s “trick” too well, Sony told him the bad news: "You’re fired".

Tobey Maguire Seabiscuit
Tobey Maguire in "Seabiscuit"

Right after Tobey Maguire was fired from playing Peter Parker, the star that director Sam Raimi had long been kept an eye on was called. The producer, director, and Jake Gyllenhaal had even met and discussed the project of Spider-man 2.

The 2019 Mysterio would have got the role of Peter Parker and became the second generation Spider-man if Toby Maguire didn’t pull himself together and returned to apologize Sony. In any case, Toby was the first Spider-man and he was the one that created the Spiderman trademark. Maybe that was the reason why Sony Studio threw in the towel and let the actor have another chance to get the part.

Jake Gyll 1
Source: Tumblr

Recently, before the release of Spider-man: Far From Home, Jake Gyllenhaal himself confirmed with the Sreenrant that he was among the potential actors to be Spider-man in the period of 2003.

16 years later, Spider-man 2, but with Tom Holland

Spider-man: Far From Home is like the second part of Spider-man series, except it was made by Marvel Studio. Strangely enough, it is also the second installment of Spider-man, Jake Gyllenhaal was called again. This time, the 38-year-old actor came back with the part of Mysterio, a supervillain and special effect artist.

Jake Gyllenhaal Esquire 2015
Source: Esquire

The character comes from another dimension where there is also Earth but has another number batch, 318. As in the trailer, Mysterio will accompany Spider-man played by Tom Holland, to fight four titans that have the ability to control four elements of nature. Their names are the Elementals.

Jake Gyll Spiderman
Jake Gyllenhaal in "Spider-man: Far From Home"

Now, to reflect on it, perhaps fate is destined to direct Jake to a better path. If he ever became Spiderman of the second generation, then perhaps the image of Jake Gyllenhaal as Spider-Man was now owned by Sony Studio.

Also, he will lose the opportunity to join Spider-man: Far From Home project this time, as well as being unable to join the Marvel Universe that is much more diverse and wider than Sony's world.

The fact that he dropped his part 16 years ago turned out to be the preparation for a bigger opportunity, more opportunities, and potentials in his acting career.

Jake Gyll 2
Source: Tumblr

Jake Gyll 4
Source: Tumblr

With such an interesting "fate" with Spider-man, should we expect Marvel to realize it, and keep Jake Gyllenhaal's character in the following parts of Spider-Man, no?

Comments

Sort by Newest | Popular

Next Story