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Even though it’s been 20 years since Spider-Man 2 was released, the film still holds a soft spot in the hearts of fans thanks to its story, cast, and characters, in addition to Sam Raimi’s incredible filmmaking skills of course. One character who has managed to withstand the test of time and develop a small following of his own over the years is none other than Peter Parker’s (Tobey Maguire) boss at Joe’s Pizza, Mr. Aziz.
Played by the incredibly talented Aasif Mandvi, Mr. Aziz has become an icon in his own right, despite his limited screen time. Talking with Aaron Sagers of Den of Geek’s Talking Strange podcast, Mandvi recently shared what this character and being involved in this world have meant to him, and whether or not he would return to the MCU. Mandvi, along with his castmates Katja Herbers and Michael Emerson chatted about their Paramount+ show Evil‘s four-season run and the fact that they’re open to returning to their characters should the opportunity arise. But Ben Shakir isn’t the only role that Mandvi is open to reprising some day.
Mandvi says that originally, he turned down the role of Mr. Aziz because he wasn’t a big Marvel or Spider-Man fan, and had just come off of a lead role in another film and a turn on Broadway. But he eventually changed his mind and is still amazed at the fact that people remember Mr. Aziz so fondly. “It’s been such an iconic character and such an iconic role in terms of people still talking to me about it twenty years later,” Mandvi says. “And that’s just the power of those huge franchises like that, the power of those Marvel movies.”
When asked whether or not he would be interested in bringing Mr. Aziz back into the MCU, Mandvi says “I would totally come back, if they asked me to do it. In retrospect, he was such a fun character to play.” According to Mandvi, though, not too much has changed in Mr. Aziz’s life since we last saw him. He’s still in the pizza business, “still there working, still making the pizza,” but now he “has a whole franchise of pizza joints” in his name. Mandvi theorizes that Mr. Aziz was maybe able to buy out Joe’s Pizza and now it’s “Aziz’s Pizza” or “Mr. Aziz’s Pizza.” The important thing is that Mr. Aziz is still your friendly neighborhood pizza guy.
However, it does seem like Mandvi might have one stipulation to returning to this world. During the interview, the actor shared an anecdote about the extended edition of Spider-Man 2 and the fact that apparently they changed one of the line readings he’s become famous for. Mandvi says that he was “annoyed” at this change because even though it’s a simple line, telling Peter to “go’ deliver his pizzas, his initial improvisation and interpretation of the reading was personal. Mandvi says that he spoke the line in a way similar to “the way my uncles and my dad talked when they wanted me to do something,” and that’s it’s “become, sort of, the trademark of that character.” It’s something that fans have talked about a lot over the years, and adds personality to Mr. Aziz and Peter’s relationship.
According to Mandvi, the extended version uses a different take of that line that lacks the same personality and inflection as the original version. “It’s like an awkward cut, it’s an awkward edit,” Mandvi argues, “and I don’t know why they shortened that line or changed that line reading in the extended version of the thing.” He says he encourages everyone to not watch the extended version of Spider-Man 2 “and to only watch the original, which Sam Raimi edited and put together, and watch Sam Raimi’s vision of that movie.”
While he never explicitly says that he’ll only return to Marvel if they promise not to do this again, Kevin Feige and the powers that be should still take heed. Because if Mr. Aziz comes back, we want to see his passion for pizza and customer service come through in every single line reading, especially if he’s running the place now.
Cameos for the sake of cameos can get old fast in the multiverse, but there’s always room for an appearance from Mr. Aziz in the MCU. Instead of chowing on shawarma after saving the world like in the first Avengers, maybe we get the Young Avengers stopping in for a bite of pizza from Mr. Aziz after saving the multiverse? But whether or not Mandvi is asked to return, it’s certainly fun to think about our favorite pizza guy making a comeback.
For more of the paranormal, the unexplained, and high strangeness, subscribe to our paranormal pop culture podcast Talking Strange on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube, hosted by Aaron Sagers of Netflix’s 28 Days Haunted and discovery+/Travel Channel’s Paranormal Caught on Camera.
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