Jacob Batalon on His MCU Future: "It's Sad Spider-Man Doesn't Have Friends Anymore."
Batalon last appeared as Ned Leeds in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home.
While Tom Holland's Peter Parker has completed his trilogy, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home teased that his first three movies essentially served as a three-part origin story. No Way Home concludes with Holland's Peter effectively becoming a ghost, as he orders Doctor Strange to cast a spell that makes the whole world forget who he is in order to prevent the multiverse from fracturing. This means that everyone, including his Avengers teammates and best friends MJ (Zendaya) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), have no memory of their histories with Peter Parker. Holland's Spider-Man is expected to continue in the MCU, but the permanence of the memory spell begs the question of whether his supporting stars will follow.
Jacob Batalon Speaks on MCU Future
The Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man stars continue to hold their breath.
Speaking to ComicBook.com during the Tarot press junket, actor Jacob Batalon admitted he is in the dark regarding what could be next for him in the Spider-Man franchise.
"I honestly don't know. I don't know what any future holds for any of them in that world," Batalon said. "I just feel like if things happen, they happen. I hope so. I definitely hope so. It's sad that he has no friends anymore."
Batalon made five feature film appearances Ned Leeds, starring opposite Tom Holland and Zendaya in three Spider-Man movies and cameoing as the character in both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. He was last seen in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. That movie notably set the stage for Ned to become a sorcerer, as he was able to operate Doctor Strange's sling ring, opening portals in the process.
Going down the sorcerer route would be a deviation from Ned's path in the comics. On the page, Ned eventually turns to the dark side and becomes the villainous Hobgoblin. As revealed in concept art from Spider-Man: No Way Home, the threequel once had drawn up a scene where Batalon's Ned rides Norman Osborn's glider, nodding to his character's future.
"Who knows?" Batalon responded when asked if there are plans to take the MCU's Ned down the Hobgoblin road. "Maybe. Hopefully."
Batalon can be seen in Tarot, a new horror film from directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, when it hits theaters on Friday, May 3rd.
