Warning: SPOILERS for Spider-Man: No Way Home follow below.
The Hobgoblin is one of the most iconic Spider-Man villains out there, but we have yet to see him appear on the big screen. Yes, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 saw James Franco's Harry Osborn become a New Goblin variation, and with Dane DeHaan's Harry Osborn in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, he expressed feelings of betrayal towards Peter Parker, his former best friend, causing him take on the Green Goblin mantle, but these are far cries from a straightforward Hobgoblin. However, Jacob Batalon plays Peter’s best friend Ned in the MCU Spider-Man movies, and Ned Leeds is one of the individuals who has been Hobgoblin in the comics. As such, Batalon has shares his thoughts on if he wants to play the villain in a Spider-Man sequel.
In the MCU, Peter and Ned have been quite a dynamic duo. As soon as Ned discovered Peter’s secret identity, he was willing to be the “guy in the chair” for any mission Spider-Man was on. But could all of that change in a fourth Spider-Man movie? Jacob Batalon was asked on House Beautiful’s Dark House podcast if he would be open to playing a villain, and this was what he had to say.
You know, I'd love to. 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.
In the works, huh? There was a hint during a scene in Spider-Man: No Way Home when Tobey Maguire’s Peter talked to Ned about how Harry Osborn had tried to kill him before he died. This thought scared Ned into thinking he could turn into a supervillain and try to kill Peter in his universe. Even though he swore to Peter he would never do that to him, Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending had everyone in Peter’s life, including Ned, forget about Peter Parker, so now they only remember Spider-Man. So if he has no memory of the friendship he had with Peter, maybe something sinister could be going down with the budding pair.
When the Hawaiian native was asked to respond to Hobgoblin rumors before, he preferred to just take the Fifth on the subject. I can’t blame him considering something like this can come off as a major surprise even if fans anticipate it. Unlike the Sam Raimi or Marc Webb movies, we’ve seen three movies of Peter and Ned’s friendship growing strong. To have Ned turn towards the dark side and engage in serious combat against Peter could be an epic twist for the series. In the past, it was hard enough for Spidey actors like Tom Holland to not give anything away about future Spider-Man films, so it’s probably best for right now if Batalon keeps things on the hush for further anticipation.
As of now, Spider-Man 4 is still expected to happen, but it might not be until a while, particularly because Spider-Man Across the Spider-Verse was delayed until June 2, 2023. The way Spider-Man: No Way Home ended could have meant this would be the end of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man as a new chapter in his life could have him surrounded by new friends and foes that have nothing to do with the original MCU trilogy. But with the major box office records No Way Home set, this definitely means we’ll be seeing the return of this version of the web-slinging superhero.
So, it’s still up in the air whether we'll see Jacob Batalon as Hobgoblin in future Spider-Man movies. But, it’ll be really exciting to find out. Be sure to keep up with CinemaBlend’s upcoming movies so you’ll know when to expect the fourth Spider-Man movie to swing into theaters.
