Well, webheads, after the immensely successful Spider-Man: Homecoming and the even more successful Avengers: Infinity War, casting has begun for the next Spidey solo flick with Jake Gyllenhaal being eyed to play the villain ‘Mysterio’, it appears. That’s according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.

Quentin Beck, a.k.a Mysterio, a special effects wizard from Hollywood, turns to a life of crime after becoming disillusioned with the dead-end nature of his Hollywood day job. He tangles with Spider-Man often, even joining the Sinister Six on occasion after being bested by everyone’s friendly neighbourhood spider. Depending on which run of the character they choose to adapt, from campy 60s original to the more serious version in later years, this could be a great villain to finally be adapted for the big screen.

This wouldn’t be Gyllhenhaal’s first flirtation with the Spider-Man universe, after he almost replaced original Spidey Tobey Maguire back in the early 00s after Maguire was badly injured filming the biopic Seabiscuit. If Gyllenhaal does accept this role, however, this would be the first comic book movie of his career.

After playing a fantastic sociopath in 2014’s superb thriller Nightcrawler, the role of Mysterio would suit him down to the ground. The neediness of Quentin Beck to be seen as worthy and not just run-of-the-mill would fit Gyllenhaal’s restrained mania perfectly.

The as-yet-untitled Spider-Man sequel is due for release July 5th 2019.