By now, the debate among Spider-Man fans about Sony’s rebooted movie franchise directed by Marc Webb versus the “original” Spider-trilogy from Sam Raimi seems futile. Both sets of films have their flaws, and thanks to the recent Sony hack, all we know for sure is that no one really knows what to do with the web-head at this point.

One notable method the newer films starring Andrew Garfield used to stand apart from the Raimi entries was to keep Peter Parker in high school, and thus not yet a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle and its Spidey-hating editor-in-chief, J. Jonah Jameson. Of course, the Oscar-nominated (for Whiplash) J.K. Simmons was so beloved in the role that it would be difficult to imagine anyone else taking it over.

The latest update on the state of Spider-Man has Sony executives denying the rumor suggesting that Spidey may very well take on a significant role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by appearing in The Avengers: Infinity War – Part 1, becoming the new face of The Avengers following the events of Captain America: Civil War and beyond.

Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson himself was interviewed by Howard Stern recently (hat tip to /Film) and when talk inevitably turned to when we’d see another Spider-Man movie, Simmons replied:

I just heard that we…that’s a possibility.

As for whether or not Simmons would return to the role he’s arguably most famous for, the actor responded in the affirmative, saying, “Absolutely.”

Did Simmons accidentally let the cat at least partway out of the bag? We know that Sony execs are having a summit this month on the future of their one comic book franchise, and as of right now the supervillain team-up Sinister Six is still technically on, with a November 2016 release date. Is this the project Simmons is almost-kind-of-halfway alluding to?

Whether or not Sony and Marvel can hammer out an agreement over sharing Spider-Man, including the highly respectable Simmons in what may be his signature role could either serve as a connective element for fans or just a distraction. It will ultimately depend on Sony’s angle going forward and if the character will fit into the inevitable next incarnation of the iconic webslinger’s universe.

Stay tuned for updates on the Spider-Man franchise as details become available.