Spider-Man: No Way Home Star Jacob Batalon Teases Villainous Future for Ned

Before Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in theaters, there were numerous rumors of what to expect from the film. There were rumors that turned out to be true, like Charlie Cox returning as Matt Murdock and Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire returning as their respective Spider-Men. There was a rumor that Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) would become a villain at some point in the film, with this character’s comic book destiny being becoming the Hob Goblin. After the events of No Way Home, it seems like that rumor is more likely to come true in a future film. During a new interview with Esquire. Batalon teased the villainous future of his character.

“You know, I’d love to,” Batalon told the magazine. “I feel like as an actor [when I was in drama school] I really gravitated more towards really dark dramatic things as opposed to comedy and things of like that nature but I found, you know. playing Ned and Reginald, it has sort of given me this light where I wasn’t seeing things so negatively and I wasn’t thinking so deeply or darkly about things… it’s a very light presence and it’s been a very positive effect on my life. So I feel like… I’m looking forward to doing a lot of other things, which you know people may not see me doing right now. But yeah, those things are in the works for sure.”

Marvel Studios unveiled their plans for the next three years with two new Avengers movies being announced. Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars will both make their way into theaters in 2025. This may seem like it’s pretty far away, but Marvel is known for teasing their upcoming films with post-credit scenes. But, it seems like they might be doing it differently this time around. During a new interview with ComicBook.com, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige reveals how the post-credits scenes could build towards the next two Avengers films.

“The truth is, all of the tags are never just about the future. There are tags that are eating shwarma, Captain America saying you know you gotta learn patience, sometimes, you know, you wait for something that’s not worth it. So they are always fun for us,” Feige told us. “We don’t want everything to feel the same. So some of the tags will connect and some of them won’t. Some of the films and shows will connect; some of them won’t. I think it’s just as important that we can have standalone introductory stories like Ms. Marvel, like Moon Knight, in addition to things that interconnect and build towards the larger story. A lot of what we’ve been doing has been building to this larger story, obviously with The Kang Dynasty and the Multiverse Saga, and now I think people will, I hope, come along for the ride. Both where it’s you’re on the express train to the finale, also when it’s fun, as many of our Phase 1, 2 and 3 films were.”

The latest Marvel Studios film was Thor: Love and Thunder. The film is being directed by Taika Waititi and will star Chris Hemsworth as the titular character, Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster/Mighty Thor, Russell Crowe as Zeus, Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star Lord, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, Karen Gillan as Nebula and Christian Bale as Gorr the God Butcher. In addition to directing, Waititi will also be reprising his role as Korg. Thor: Love and Thunder is exclusively streaming on Disney+ now!

What do you think about Ned Leeds becoming a villain? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!