The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly expanding, thanks to new projects arriving in theaters and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. As such, folks are always curious about upcoming Marvel movies, especially fan favorites like the Spider-Man movies. For years, fans have been wondering if Jacob Batalon's Ned might become the villainous Hobgoblin, and someone finally asked the actor about it.
Folks who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have seen as Tom Holland's Spider-Man films became fan favorites. Brand New Day has overtaken Endgame at the box office, but will Ned ever transform into Hobgoblin? During a conversation with ScreenRant's podcast Coffee Chats, Batalon spoke about what it would take for his character to break bad. In his words:
It would have to be gradual, for sure. There'd have to be real life-changing events for him to want to change who he is, because he's really just a nice and loving, caring person. It'd be really hard for him to just turn on a heel like that. It'd be an interesting storyline to pursue and to watch him turn into that, but it would take a lot. I would say, perhaps, a lot of brainwashing by a third party.
Honestly, this makes sense. While there are corners of the MCU fandom that are dying to see Ned become a villain and fight his former best friend, it would take a bunch of narrative twists in order to make Jacob Batalon's signature character into Hobgoblin. So there might be precedent in the comics, but (currently) it would make far less sense on the big screen.
While fan art made Ned into Hobgoblin, it's unclear if that'll ever happen within the MCU. Later in the same podcast appearance, the Tarot actor got honest about the likelihood of becoming a villain, offering:
But I would say there's really nothing throughout the first three movies, or this movie, that really signifies that kind of turn.
He's not wrong. And even though Ned lost his memories of Peter after Spider-Man: No Way Home's ending, he still didn't end up showing any villainous qualities in Brand New Day. I mean, except for making the Spidey Tracker and his wall of theories about who might be under the mask. Per Batalon's comments, the franchise is going to have to methodically and slowly transform his character into Hobgoblin... if it's going to happen at all.
Brand New Day's ending seemed to indicate that Ned had started regaining his memories of Peter, which makes his villainous arc all the more unlikely as things currently stand. Still, that's not going to stop fans from hoping that it happens one day.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theaters now as part of the 2026 movie release list. We'll just have to see if/when a fifth movie is developed, and what happens to Peter and his friends.
