Jacob Batalon, who starred as Ned Leeds in the MCU’sSpider-Mantrilogy, has made his thoughts clear on a potentialSpider-Man 4. While doing an interview, Batalon said that he and the rest of the cast were “open to” a fourth installment, but were “not hoping” for one.
Batalon’s Ned has become a fan favorite. A departure from previousSpider-Manentries, which focused on the friendship between Peter Parker and Harry Osborn, theJon Watts Spider-Man trilogyinstead focused on the relationship between Peter and Ned, who had not taken on a prominent role in previous live-action movies. Watts had previously clarified this was to do a fresh take on the story. At the end of last year’sSpider-Man: No Way Home, Ned and MJ (Zendaya) ended up forgetting who Peter (Tom Holland) was as a result of Doctor Strange’s (Benedict Cumberbatch) spell.
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Speaking during an exclusive interview withCollider, Batalon was pressed about a possibleSpider-Man 4and said, “I feel like actors are the last people to know. I think that people assume that actors are always hiding secrets. I promise you, we don’t know anything. But again, if it’s the right place, at the right time, with the right group of people that we’ve been with, I would say, why not? But other than that, whatever happens, happens. Really, those decisions are up to the big bosses, the people who sign the checks. We’re open to the idea, but we’re not hoping for it.” The finale ofSpider-Man: No Way Homewas poignant and a good place to leave the MCU’s Spider-Man for a breather. While Ned still has potential storylines to go through (in the comics,Ned becomes the Hobgoblin), it seems that Batalon is emotionally satisfied with where his character ended up.
Earlier in the interview, Batalon seems to set the stage for this view, acknowledging that filming the Spider-Man trilogy was an emotional experience. “We all very much were crying, our last day of work. […] It was such a beautiful experience to be a part of, I think for all of us. We started at a very young age, being teenagers, essentially, when we started the first movie. […] I would say that it’s such a poignant ending to our movies. It really puts an exclamation on the continuance of Spider-Man, but maybe not with us, and I think that’s a great thing. We may not necessarily be a part of it, in the end, but it was a beautiful ride anyway.” His wording implies that, though Spider-Man may be in the MCU going forward, he would be fine if Ned did not. For Batalon, filmingtheSpider-Mantrilogywas a core experience in a central part of his life, but to have Ned not necessarily partake in any more Spider-Man adventures would be reflective of the John Hughes-inspired coming-of-age experience that the Watts trilogy is about: most of the time, friendships don’t last forever.
Batalon’s quote has been taken out of context by a few angry fans. Some headlines have placed emphasis on the part of Batalon’s quote where he says that he’s “not hoping” for the role, and without the full context, it could be mistaken that Batalon is saying the cast is actively hoping to move on fromSpider-Man. This appears to be far from what Batalon was actually saying within the full scope of his conversation.
Batalon actually seems to be keen on returning; with the full quote, he’s indicating that the characters were left in a comfortable spot with which they could say goodbye to audiences. His ‘right time, right place, and the right group of people’ quote further indicates that Batalon would simply like the story to do justice to the return of his character. To focus on one part of his quote and condemn him for it seems needlessly harsh. Hopefully,characters like Zendaya’s MJand Batalon’s Ned do appear in future installments - where they’re done justice.
