Joel McHale jokes his character from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 should’ve been in Spider-Man: No Way Home. As the 27th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and culmination of Jon Watts’ Homecoming trilogy, No Way Home capitalizes on Phase Four’s multiverse theory. The film sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) crack up the multiverse, bringing Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men and their respective baddies into the MCU.

Long before McHale was Community’s Jeff Wringer or starred in Stargirl, he was featured in a prominent scene in Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004). In the film, a nuclear fusion experiment goes bad and turns Dr. Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) into the mechanical-armed “Doc Ock.” Determined to rebuild his machine and finish his experiment, Doc Ock robs a bank—where Peter Parker (Maguire) and Aunt May (Rosemary Harris) are applying for a loan. McHale plays Mr. Jacks, the bank manager who not only denies the Parkers their loan but attempts to pocket a gold coin during Ock’s robbery. Unfortunately for McHale, May puts him in his place, and he stays there even as Molina’s character was brought into the MCU.

Related: Spider-Man: No Way Home’s Multiverse Adds Another Community Actor To The MCU

In a recent interview with ComicBook.com, McHale talked about his upcoming Super Bowl commercial and his experience seeing his former co-stars, Maguire and Molina, in No Way Home. Explaining he “saw it twice in the first week,” McHale said he became emotional when characters from Sony’s past came on screen before joking about how his banker character should have been in the film. Read the rest of McHale's quote below:

“There's this nostalgia and this sort of like... I mean, the movie was so well done because it brought together all these things,” said McHale. “Because that moment when Andrew Garfield catches Zendaya, it was such a great payoff. And so I was so happy. I saw it again, even more to see the second time, and believe me, I wanted Mr. Jacks the bank manager to come back...Yeah, that's what everyone's saying. A lot of people are talking about that. Where is Mr. Jacks?"

Joel McHale Spider-Man 2

The good news for McHale is that No Way Home effectively makes the Raimi universe and all of its inhabitants canon. Despite any changes made to the timeline in the latest MCU film, that bank scene will remain. While McHale didn’t cameo in No Way Home, his character is technically part of the MCU’s multiverse. This retroactively adds his name to the long list of Community stars who have graced the MCU. For the uninitiated: Community actors have directly appeared in various MCU installments as a sort of long-running gag—from Danny Pudi as a SHIELD officer in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Donald Glover as Aaron Davis in Spider-Man: Homecoming to Ken Jeong and Yvette Nicole Brown in Avengers: Endgame.

No Way Home may have been snubbed by the Oscars, but it continues to break box office records and represents a high point for superhero cinema, bringing together three generations of characters, actors, and fans. Where Spider-Man swings next remains to be seen. However, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and Sony producer Amy Pascal seem hopeful for a fourth film with Holland’s webslinger. As for McHale, he’s set to appear next in a Planters Mixed Nuts ad during the Super Bowl on February 13. While not the MCU, a lot of people will be watching.

More: No Way Home's Memory Spell Won't Help With Spider-Man's MCU Villains

Source: ComicBook.com

Key Release Dates