Spider-Man: Far From Home Adds A Curb Your Enthusiasm Star

J.B. Smoove Curb Your Enthusiasm

In the past few weeks, Spider-Man: Far From Home casting has begun to trickle in, with the big highlight so far being the addition of Jake Gyllenhaal as Mysterio. Now, however, we have what is arguably equally exciting news, as reports say that Curb Your Enthusiasm star J.B. Smoove has joined the superhero blockbuster's ensemble.

Spider-Man: Homecoming was rich with comedic actors in key supporting roles, including Hannibal Burress and Martin Starr, and Deadline's latest story about the sequel suggests the new movie may have a similar energy. There are no specific details about the character he will be playing in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it seems that it is an important one, as the trade report calls it "a lead in the ensemble."

Not much has been officially released about Spider-Man: Far From Home just yet, with even the title being a fairly recent revelation. Tom Holland will (somehow) reprise the role of Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man, and it's expected that the sequel will bring back a few of the key supporting characters from the first movie - including Marisa Tomei as May Parker, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes a.k.a. Vulture, and Zendaya as Michelle a.k.a. MJ. Jon Watts is is back in the director's chair after taking the helm on Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it's expected that the film will feature the eponymous hero on an adventure that takes him far away from New York (the most obvious read of the feature's title). It's been said the future blockbuster will have Peter taking a summer vacation in Europe, though things will get a bit hairy when Jake Gyllenhaal's Quentin Beck a.k.a. Mysterio arrives to spoil the fun.

Without more information about the movie's plot it's hard to speculate who J.B. Smoove will be playing in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but even without that information we already know he's an excellent addition. He has been making audiences howl with laughter for years not only playing Leon Black on the HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm, but also on the big screen in movies like Barbershop: The Next Cut and Pootie Tang. You can currently see him in theaters as part of the cast of the ensemble comedy Uncle Drew, and the plan is to shoot his part in Marvel Studios' 23rd feature before starting production on the tenth season of Curb.

Funny enough, J.B. Smoove has actually acted alongside Tom Holland as Peter Parker before - but you're not going crazy, because he's not in either Captain America: Civil War or Spider-Man: Homecoming. Instead, I'm referring to an Audi commercial that Smoove and Holland filmed together, with the former playing the hero's driving instructor:

Spider-Man: Far From Home hasn't started production yet, but cameras are expected to start rolling in the next few weeks. In that time we expect to hear a lot more casting news, so be sure to stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates about the project. As for when you'll actually be able to see the film, Sony Pictures will have the blockbuster in theaters on July 5, 2019.

Eric Eisenberg
Assistant Managing Editor

Eric Eisenberg is the Assistant Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. After graduating Boston University and earning a bachelor’s degree in journalism, he took a part-time job as a staff writer for CinemaBlend, and after six months was offered the opportunity to move to Los Angeles and take on a newly created West Coast Editor position. Over a decade later, he's continuing to advance his interests and expertise. In addition to conducting filmmaker interviews and contributing to the news and feature content of the site, Eric also oversees the Movie Reviews section, writes the the weekend box office report (published Sundays), and is the site's resident Stephen King expert. He has two King-related columns.