Jake Johnson expresses hope that he will return as Peter B. Parker for Sony's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 after confirming talks in July. Debuting in the 2018 film, Johnson's iteration of the titular hero was an amalgamation of every adaptation of Spider-Man, most notably that of Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's trilogy. However this Parker was also an older and disheveled version of the character after having made some questionable decisions in his 20 years of being a hero while also losing Aunt May and getting divorced from his universe's Mary Jane Watson.
The New Girl alum was one of multiple variations of Spider-Man featured in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, with the story primarily focusing on newly-powered Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy as well as the more outlandish Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham and Peni Parker. The film was a smash hit upon its release, grossing over $375 million against its $90 million budget and scoring rave reviews from critics and audiences alike and becoming the first non-Disney/Pixar film in nearly a decade to bring home the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. A sequel was announced to be in development prior to its release alongside a female-focused spin-off, with the former officially getting underway in June 2020 and slated for an October 2022 release.
While discussing his indie comedy Ride the Eagle with The Daily Beast, Johnson offered a tease about his return for the untitled Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sequel. Though not confirming one way or the other, the actor did note he is still hopeful to be able to reprise his role of Peter B. Parker in the film and believing there is more to tell for the character. See what Johnson said below:
“I sure hope so. I’ll be pretty heartbroken if I don’t get to play Peter B. Parker again. I don’t think his story’s over. I would like to know what happens to him.”
As with many fans of the first film, Johnson has frequently expressed his hopes to return as Parker in the sequel in the years since its release. Last month saw Johnson confirm that he was working on a contract with Sony and that he believed he would be returning, which creates a point of curiosity as to his latest comments simply stating the hope is still there for his return. Given the actor's extreme interest in reprising the role and the success of the first film, it would be hard to imagine that Johnson won't be coming back.
With Sony and Marvel Studios still keeping many of the details for Spider-Man: No Way Home secretive with only a few months remaining for its release, it also seems all the more understandable the former hasn't officially confirmed Johnson's return for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2. Previous reports for the sequel have stated the film would better explore the relationship between Miles and Gwen, which may not inherently rule out Peter B. Parker from the story but does create the possibility that Sony wants to keep his return under wraps for the time being. Only time will tell whether Johnson's webslinger will be seen again and what his life has become.
Source: The Daily Beast
