Possibly one of the most recognizable character actors of the past decade and a half, J.K. Simmons, who famously played J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi’s three “Spider-Man” movies, has been picked by director Alan Taylor to play a role in the upcoming Terminator: Genesis as a “weary and alcoholic detective who has followed a bizarre case involving Sarah Connor and robots for more than three decades.”
The reboot of the franchise being produced by Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions will bring back Arnold Schwarzenegger in the title role with Jai Courtney playing Kyle Reese, Jason Clarke as John Connor and “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke playing Sarah Connor. The idea is to thread together ideas from the previous movies to relaunch the story of a cyborg from the future sent back to prevent computers from gaining sentience and turning on humanity.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that Simmons’ character has been following the case since 1984, which is the year in which the original Terminator, directed by James Cameron, was released.
Simmons has been a regular on the big screen for many years, but he recently returned to television starring in NBC’s comedy “Growing Up Fisher” and recently co-starred in the Sundance award-winning drama Whiplash opposite Miles Teller, which will be released by Sony Pictures Classics. He can also be seen daily on TV in commercials for Farmers Insurance.
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