No Way Home scoring big at the box office, pulling in over $1.8 billion worldwide.
Batalon first appeared opposite Tom Holland's Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Homecoming as his best friend, but soon became entangled in Parker's hero's journey. Batalon, along with Zendaya, who plays Parker's love interest MJ, have provided comedic relief and heart to the recent Spider-Man films. At the end of No Way Home, both Ned and MJ had their memories wiped of any knowledge of the existence of Peter Parker. Although this does not eliminate him from the franchise entirely, it does allow the films to continue without acknowledging his existence.
THR recently caught up with Batalon to discuss the actor's projects. In the interview, Batalon was asked if he would ever go back to the role of Ned Leeds in another Spider-Man movie. The actor was hesitant to give a straight answer but has left the door open to the opportunity. Read what Batalon had to say below.
"I’ve learned not to say anything about that. But it would have to really be the right thing, done the right way. [The Spider-Man cast] has talked about this, and we feel those opportunities came for us when we really needed it the most. Now that we’re in a different place in our careers, I wouldn’t want to take that opportunity away from a young actor who’s trying to become something. If it was the right thing, absolutely, but I’m not just going do it just to do it."
With Ned Leeds' future in the MCU left up in the air, so is Batalon's. The actor seems to have appreciated the superhero sidekick chapter of his career and is prepared to the baton to a new generation of actors ready to make their mark. Batalon is set to lead a new SyFy channel dramedy series called Reginald the Vampire, which centers around Batalon's Reginald who has recently turned in to a vampire and must navigate the obstacles of the new vampire world around him.
Although Batalon's Ned Leeds appears to have no current planned future in the MCU, if the opportunity arises for a return, Parker's best friend can find himself at the center of the hero's next major plot line. In the comics, Ned has had a complex history with Spider-Man and Peter Parker. He worked as a reporter for the Daily Bugle, the newspaper in which Parker worked as a photographer, and also briefly became a supervillain by taking up the mantle as Hobgoblin. If Ned's evil turn were to happen in the MCU, this would force Parker to face the past mistakes that took his best friend, as well as his girlfriend MJ, away from him. It would also serve as a callback to the comedic and heartfelt moment from No Way Home. After talking to both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parkers, Ned promises Parker that he would never turn into a supervillain and try to kill him.
Source: THR
