Jamie Foxx Agreed To Return For Spider-Man: No Way Home Under One Condition
The recent arrival of the long-awaited "Spider-Man: No Way Home" was thrilling for many reasons, but the promise of seeing more than one of Spidey's biggest foes join the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time arguably had fans more excited than any other aspect of its release. Ever since Alfred Molina revealed that he was reprising the role of Doc Ock, a character he first portrayed in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 2" in 2004, franchise devotees began to eagerly anticipate the chance to see he and various villains from the other "Spider-Man" films take on Tom Holland's Peter Parker.
Jaime Foxx's Electro is one of the antagonists from prior a "Spider-Man" movie who made their MCU debut in "No Way Home." Electro first appeared on the big screen in 2014's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2." Though the film is considered one of the worst to star the famed web-slinger, Electro was certainly a memorable villain, making his reintroduction in the latest "Spider-Man" film a welcome inclusion, in spite of the poor reception of his first film appearance. That said, the actor recently revealed that he initially felt hesitant to reprise the role prior to accepting it — and would only return if one condition in particular was met first.
Jamie Foxx did not want Electro to be blue
MCU architect Kevin Feige and Sony producer Amy Pascal recently sat down with Brandon Davis from Comicbook.com, and amidst a discussion of various other topics related to "Spider-Man: No Way Home," the trio eventually got to talking about Electro. When the character first appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," many fans were upset by the character's full body-spanning electric blue color, which was a far cry from his look in the comics. However, trailers for "Spider-Man: No Way Home" revealed that in his latest film, Electro would be outfitted in a costume much more akin to how the character appeared in his comic book source material — a costume which also features what looks like an Iron Man arc reactor.
This subject came up when Davis asked Feige if Electro lost his blue appearance because of that arc reactor. Feige, a veteran when it comes to avoiding spoiling his own movies, replied, "I won't say that you're wrong. I also won't say that you're right." He did share, however, that the studios promised Foxx that Electro wouldn't be blue this time around.
Foxx himself has publicly shared his distaste for the blue costume. Speaking at the CCXP panel, he expressed his enthusiasm for the new take on the character in the MCU, saying, "I was excited...[Amy Pascal] was explaining to me that it's gonna be hot, and I didn't have to be blue, and things like that as far as my character is concerned" (via ComicBook.com). Electro is one of the more sympathetic "Spider-Man" villains, and the comic-accurate revision to his appearance in "No Way Home" indicates Marvel's commitment to bringing this character to life the right way.
Foxx was happy with Electro's new design
Following the release of "Spider-Man: No Way Home" on December 17, Jamie Foxx further discussed returning to the role of Electro in an interview published on the official Marvel website. After Foxx reiterated that the promise of the character sporting a new appearance contributed to him accepting the role, he went on to explain how Electro's acknowledgement of his new look in the movie's script was integral to pulling off such a drastic alteration to his previously established character. "The [biggest] thing that changed is that he acknowledged the way he looked. He acknowledged, 'Oh, I like this, I dig this.' By doing that, it answers any questions like why or what's this thing?" Foxx said. "Being able to do that, and just bringing a little of the way I wanted to talk and how I wanted to present myself, [Electro] has a little hipness to him."
Foxx had further kind things to say about his character's new look in response to a question about the fact that his updated costume resembles an electrician's uniform. "It's electrician-chic. What I'm saying is that it's fly," he said. "It's not a cape or anything like that. I really dug that. That's cool because it keeps it practical. 'Practical magic' is what you could call it, because he's so practical."
So, while he appears to have disliked the look of the character the first time around, Foxx offered nothing but praise for both the process through which the character was redesigned, and the appearance they ultimately landed on during the production of "No Way Home."