The announcement of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (unsurprisingly) has Marvel loyalists pretty excited. With so many possibilities for what’s to come in the MCU’s first horror film, fans are already starting to generate their own theories about what the sequel, which will see Benedict Cumberbatch reprise his role as Dr. Stephen Strange, might entail.
One theory in particular is generating some interest on Reddit, if only because it would be a fun throwback. User loutermit thinks that J. Jonah Jameson, the Daily Bugle editor-in-chief played by J.K. Simmons in Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man trilogy, could make an appearance.
Though the Redditor doesn’t give much explanation as to why they think Simmons will make a cameo, they highlight one particular scene that actually does make it seem possible: In Spider-Man 2 (2004), Jameson tries to come up with a name for the next supervillain. He suggests "Doctor Strange," before realizing that the name is already taken. As CBR reports, Jameson could be referring to Stephen Strange as the famous surgeon before his accident, which turned him into the mystical hero we now know.
This theory might be a long shot, and it’s quite likely that the Redditor just wants to see more of Simmons. (Who doesn’t?) But considering that the Oscar-winning actor made a surprise appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home, anything is possible.
We’ll know everything for sure when the Doctor Strange sequel hits theaters on May 7, 2021.