''The Daily Bugle'' (formerly ''TheDailyBugle.net'') is an American

faux Faux may refer to: People *Faux (surname) Places Places in Belgium * Faux, a village in the Belgian commune of Court-Saint-Étienne Places in France * Faux, Ardennes, French commune of the Ardennes department * Faux, Dordogne, French commune of t ...

current affairs digital series serving as the center of several

viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...

campaigns created by

Sony Pictures Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...

. Based on the fictional

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

agency of the same name appearing in several

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

publications—the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

videos initially began as marketing for the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

(MCU) film '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', and deal with major events depicted in the MCU and later the

Sony's Spider-Man Universe Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, the f ...

(SSU) films, with the second and third seasons primarily airing on

TikTok TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes. TikTok is an international version ...

. The first season of the

news program News broadcasting is the medium of broadcasting various news events and other information via television, radio, or the internet in the field of broadcast journalism. The content is usually either video production, produced local programming, ...

features

J. K. Simmons Jonathan Kimble Simmons (born January 9, 1955) is an American actor, considered one of the most prolific and well-established character actors of his generation. He has appeared in over 200 films and television roles since his debut in 1986. He i ...

as J. Jonah Jameson, reprising his role from the MCU films and Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Man'' trilogy. Several other actors reprise their roles from the films, while archival footage of others is also used. The initial videos were released from October to November 2019, focusing on the immediate aftermath of ''Spider-Man: Far From Home''. A second season, leading up to the events of the sequel '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' and featuring

Angourie Rice Angourie Rice ( ; born 1 January 2001) is an Australian actress. She began her career as a child actress, coming to attention for her roles in ''These Final Hours'' and ''The Nice Guys''. She is known for her portrayal of Betty Brant in the Mar ...

reprising her role as Betty Brant, began in November 2021. A third season, leading up to the events of the SSU film '' Morbius'' and featuring Nicque Marina as a fictionalized version of herself, released in March 2022, separately from the ''No Way Home'' videos. The videos are accompanied by additional marketing materials, such as in-universe web articles and social media posts. The series has been received positively, seen as better than average viral marketing campaigns, and as a fun and insightful expansion of the MCU for fans of the franchise.

''Spider-Man: Far From Home'' campaign (2019)

''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' campaign (2021–2022)

Episodes six through eight and eleven are ''Burning Questions with Betty Brant'' episodes. The campaign released additional videos as a bonus feature with '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021) digital release in March 2022, with further episodes being released in April.

''Morbius'' campaign (2022)

Cast and characters

as J. Jonah Jameson (seasons 1–2), the presenter of ''The Daily Bugle'' who is carrying out a media smear campaign against the vigilante

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...

. *

as Betty Brant (season 2), Peter Parker's classmate at the Midtown School of Science and Technology and a new (unpaid) intern at ''The Daily Bugle'' who has been put in charge of its

account. She often attempts to counter Jameson's defamation of Parker having known him personally, much to his dismay. * Nicque Marina as a fictionalized version of herself (season 3), a new social correspondent at ''The Daily Bugle'' reporting on the crime spree of Dr. Michael Morbius. Also reprising their roles from the

(MCU) films are

Tony Revolori Anthony Revolori ( Quiñonez; born April 28, 1996) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Zero Moustafa in ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' (2014), for which he was nominated for numerous acting awards, and Flash Thompson in the Mar ...

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

influencer An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...

Eugene "Flash" Thompson, Hannibal Buress as Midtown High

gym teacher Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement exploratio ...

Coach Wilson,

Jacob Batalon Jacob Batalon (; born October 9, 1996) is an American actor. Batalon achieved international recognition playing Ned Leeds in five Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero films, beginning with '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'' (2017). Cameos in '' Avenger ...

Ned Leeds Edward "Ned" Leeds is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A supporting character in stories featuring the superhero Spider-Man, he has been a reporter for the ''Daily Bugle'', and the abusive husban ...

, and

Tom Holland Thomas Stanley Holland (born 1 June 1996) is an English actor. His accolades include a British Academy Film Award, three Saturn Awards, a Guinness World Record and an appearance on the ''Forbes'' 30 Under 30 Europe list. Some publications h ...

as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, with

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He beg ...

appearing as Quentin Beck / Mysterio via

archive footage Stock footage, and similarly, archive footage, library pictures, and file footage is film or video footage that can be used again in other films. Stock footage is beneficial to filmmakers as it saves shooting new material. A single piece of stock ...

from ''Spider-Man: Far From Home''. In the third season, footage of

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

and

Adria Arjona Adria Arjona Torres (born April 25, 1992) is an actress based in the United States. She played Dorothy Gale in the Oz book adaptation ''Emerald City'' (2017), Anathema Device in the TV adaptation of ''Good Omens'' (2019), and Bix Caleen in '' ...

as Dr. Michael Morbius and Martine Bancroft from the

(SSU) film '' Morbius'' is used.

Production

From 2002 to 2007, the

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

of J. Jonah Jameson was featured in a trilogy of live-action films directed by Sam Raimi, serving as a major source of

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic episo ...

throughout the series, retaining a dislike for

and taking delight in anything that might discredit or defame him, but remains a good man at his core. After reprising the role in numerous animated projects, Simmons expressed interest in reprising the role in live-action in Marc Webb's ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' duology in April 2014, should the studio offer him the role. Simmons ultimately reprised his role as a re-imagined alternate reality version of J. Jonah Jameson in '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', released in the United States on July 2, 2019, making him the first live-action character to be portrayed by the same actor in two different franchises, also reprising the role as the same incarnation of the character in

. Contrastingly to his original depiction, J. Jonah Jameson appears as the host of ''TheDailyBugle.net'', a sensationalist "''

InfoWars ''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC. Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in stud ...

''-type video platform." Director

Jon Watts Jonathan Watts (born June 28, 1981) is an American filmmaker. His credits include directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) superhero films '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'', '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', and '' Spider-Man: No Way Home''. He was ...

noted that Simmons' performance was over-the-top in Raimi's films, but now that same performance has real-world comparisons, such as

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...

. According to

Kevin Feige Kevin Feige ( ; born June 2, 1973) is an American film and television producer who has been the president of Marvel Studios and the primary producer of the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise since 2007. The films he has produced have a combin ...

, the changes in the real world also meant that moving the character from a newspaper editor to a "radical right news journalist that kind of scream in front of the camera" made more sense. Simmons said he and Watts did not see "eye to eye" on the film's contemporary portrayal of the character versus his performance in Raimi's films. Simmons announced that he has signed on to play J. Jonah Jameson for more films in the MCU and the SSU; following the home media release of ''Spider-Man: Far From Home'' by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on digital on September 17, 2019, and on

Ultra HD Blu-ray Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players, though a traditional Bl ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

, and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on October 1, a

series of shorts starring Simmons, expanding upon his role in and set immediately after the events of ''Far From Home'' running the faux news program ''TheDailyBugle.net'', including an in-character

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. Footage of Simmons as Jameson, implied to be part the ''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' promotional campaign, appears in the

mid-credits scene A post-credits scene (commonly referred to as a stinger or credit cookie) or mid-credits scene is a short clip that appears after all or some of the closing credits have rolled and sometimes after a production logo of a film, TV series, or video g ...

of the 2021 SSU film '' Venom: Let There Be Carnage''; this was officially released as part of the ''No Way Home'' campaign on YouTube, named "Web of Lies!", in April 2022. Simmons returned as J. Jonah Jameson, with

also returning as Eugene "Flash" Thompson. Marvel partnered with

to produce the videos, which follow the character in the immediate aftermath of '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'', and the buildup to '' Spider-Man: No Way Home'', while featuring numerous

easter eggs Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tra ...

to the MCU, including such events such as the criminal career and arrest of

Adrian Toomes The Vulture (Adrian Toomes) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Toomes is an Invention, inventive, but maniacal genius who designed a special suit that allows him to fly at vast speeds. After turning to ...

. In addition to archive footage of

and

from the ''Spider-Man'' films, the videos also use original material, and footage showing the aftermath of

Mysterio Mysterio (Quentin Beck) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #13 (June 1964). He is primarily depicted ...

's attacks. The second season, primarily released through

and later YouTube, features

as Betty Brant alongside Simmons, depicted as a new (unpaid) intern at ''TheDailyBugle.net'' put in charge of its

account. The third season, also released through TikTok and taking place in the SSU, features Nicque Marina as a fictionalized version of herself, depicted as a new social correspondent at ''The Daily Bugle'' reporting on the crime spree of Dr. Michael Morbius; the ''No Way Home'' videos are released in a non-chronological order relative to the events of the film.

Release

The first season was made available on ''TheDailyBugle.net''

channel, with some of them debuting in publications such as

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and ''

The Mary Sue Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on NewsNation, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Ab ...

''. ''TheDailyBugle.net'' videos also appear as bonus features on the

release of '' Spider-Man: Far From Home'' (2019). The second and third seasons were made available on ''TheDailyBugle.net''

channel, with the official website redirected to it.

Supplementary material

Other content released for the viral marketing campaigns include ongoing posts on social media sites such as

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

, as well as a real version of the fictional TheDailyBugle.net website. Inspired by real-world "conspiracy-pushing" websites such as that of

, the website features Simmons reprising his role as Jameson in a video where he speaks out against Spider-Man and in support of Mysterio, before adding "Thanks for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe!" The website includes testimonials from supposed victims of "

the Blip The Blip (also known as the Decimation and the Snap) is a major fictional event depicted in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) franchise in which half of all living things in the universe, chosen at random, were exterminated by Thanos (Marvel ...

", including one complaining that they disappeared in a dangerous situation and were seriously injured when they reappeared. This contradicts a statement by Feige saying that anyone in such a situation would have reappeared safely. Several days after this was pointed out, the website was updated to say this story was faked for an insurance claim; with the launch of the ''Spider-Man No Way Home'' campaign in November 2021, the website was redirected to ''TheDailyBugle.net''

account.

Reception

Critical response

Aaron Perine of ''

ComicBook.com The following is a list of major assets that are owned by Paramount Global. Paramount Pictures Corporation (Film) * Paramount Pictures ** Paramount Home Entertainment ** Paramount Television Studios ** Paramount Pictures International ** Para ...

'' praised the decision to have Simmons return as the character, summarizing their appearance with the meme "When you own a role so much that the first reboot doesn't show your character and the second reboot straight up brings you back", accompanied by a photograph of Simmons from Sam Raimi's ''

Spider-Man 2 ''Spider-Man 2'' is a 2004 American superhero film directed by Sam Raimi and written by Alvin Sargent from a story by Alfred Gough, Miles Millar and Michael Chabon. Based on the fictional Marvel Comics character of the same name, it is the ...

'' (2004) hysterically laughing. Josh Weiss of ''

Syfy Wire Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Launc ...

'' complimented the web series and accompanying website, saying that "Hopefully, this isn't just a one-off thing for the DVD and Blu-ray release, because Sony can milk this thing for all it's worth and ramp up excitement for the next entry." Jessica Fisher of ''Geek Tyrant'' described Simmons' appearance as "awesome but not jaw-dropping" in reviewing the first episode. Eric Diaz of ''Nerdist'' described Simmons' role as a "real delight", saying that " en though he was missing his signature flat top, fans were more than fine with his updated version of Jonah", further describing the tie-in website as a "clever marketing push", praising its "striking resemble to certain famous conspiracy blogs that shall remain nameless [''

'', with] the site's whole aesthetic [being] pretty much spot on."

Accolades

The TikTok campaign for ''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' was nominated for a Shorty Awards in the entertainment category.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Sony's Spider-Man Universe 2019 web series debuts American news parodies Fictional television shows Marvel Cinematic Universe web series Viral marketing