Wild Spider-Man Fan Theory Claims Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio Is Still Alive In The MCU

Jake Gyllenhaal in Spider-Man: Far From Home

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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is in a unique place right now, as we're currently occupying the interim period between phases. While we've passed Black Widow's original release date, with the movie currently expected to kick start Phase Four in November. The last MCU movie to hit theaters was Jon Watts' Spider-Man: Far From Home, which revealed how the shared universe had moved on from the insane events of Infinity War an Endgame. The blockbuster also introduced Jake Gyllenhaal's Mysterio, before seemingly killing him off in the third act. But a new fan theory indicates that he might not be dead at all.

While originally appearing to be a superhero, Spider-Man: Far From Home revealed that Mysterio was nothing but a fraud. Instead, he used cutting edge projection technology and drones to create illusions of The Elementals and his own abilities. And a new theory indicates that his apparent death wasn't real, and that Peter Parker was once again being manipulated by Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck.

The theory comes to us from reddit, and mostly focuses on the use of Tony Stark's glasses/ the E.D.I.T.H. This power is what Mysterio was truly after in Spider-Man: Far From Home, as the augmented reality security and defense system paired well with his illusion tech. Throughout the movie E.D.I.T.H. is activated by calling out to her as you would Siri or Alexa, except for two very specific occasions during the final battle.

The first time E.D.I.T.H. is used without that voice command is when Mysterio orders the drones to shoot, which results in his apparent death. Shortly after, he puts on the glasses again to make sure that Quentin is actually dead, to which she explains "all illusions are down." But what if neither of these commands are genuine? Quentin Beck is a master illusionist, so did he simply fake his own death, and using another drone to tell Peter what he wants to hear?

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The story might be a little far fetched, but might be supported by Spider-Man: Far From Home's mid-credits scene. In it J.J. Abrams' J. Jonah Jameson reveals that Mysterio had another trick up his sleeve, recording a video revealing Peter Parker's identity and framing him for murder. The audience assume he recorded this before being killed, but what if Jake Gyllenhaal's character never actually died? He could be simply pulling off another illusion, allowing the actor to reprise his role in another MCU movie-- possibly teaming up with Michael Keaton's Vulture in the process.

Of course, it's also very possible that Mysterio is actually dead within the MCU, and the above fan theory is simply a fantasy. But it's exciting to think about all the places the story might go in Spider-Man 3, whenever that movie goes into production. And with Tom Holland's Peter Parker also able to pivot between Sony's superhero universe, there's no telling where Spider-Man could go in the next few years.

Black Widow will kick off Phase Four of the MCU on November 6th. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.