Jacob Batalon’s Comments Support Those Spider-Man 4 Hobgoblin Theories

Although the future of Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still a mystery, Jacob Batalon’s comments about his career add more fuel to the many theories about Spider-Man 4 seeing Ned’s transformation into the Hobgoblin. The events of Spider-Man: No Way Home made way for a lot of possibilities in a fourth MCU Spider-Man movie, as they left Peter Parker completely alone and starting a new life from scratch, which could in turn see major changes in characters that were once close to him.

At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, in order to send all the reformed villains back to their respective universes, Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell that would make everyone forget Peter Parker, and so the movie closed with Peter starting a new life completely by himself as he no longer has his loved ones with him. This also left Ned and MJ (Zendaya) without their best friend, but this also makes way for some interesting storylines for them, especially Ned, who in the comics becomes the villain known as Hobgoblin. Speculation about the MCU’s Ned becoming Hobgoblin has been floating around since Spider-Man: Homecoming was released, and Batalon’s recent comments about playing a villain in the near future have fueled these rumors.

Related: Maguire’s Spider-Man Might Have Prevented Ned’s Worst Hobgoblin Fate

How Ned Could Become Hobgoblin In Spider-Man 4

In an interview with Dark House podcast, Batalon spoke about the possibility of playing a villain in the near future, sharing that he has “gravitated more towards really dark dramatic things as opposed to comedy”, adding that “those things are in the works” for him. While Batalon didn’t mention his role as Ned nor the MCU as one of those potentially villain roles, it seems the most likely one to fall into that category. In the comics, Ned Leeds isn’t Peter Parker’s best friend, and instead, he’s his colleague at The Daily Bugle with whom he competes for the affections of Betty Brandt. When Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin, Ned follows the latter into a hideout, where he’s captured and brainwashed so he can be used as a scapegoat. Ned goes through constant manipulation and brainwashing, making him increasingly mentally unstable, and the New York underworld empire ends up learning that Ned is the Hobgoblin. While on assignment in Berlin with Peter, Ned is killed by the Foreigner at Jason Macendale’s request, and later, Spider-Man and Betty trick the real Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, into confessing to framing Ned.

Ned’s transformation into the Hobgoblin in the MCU doesn’t have to be exactly like in the comics, but it can still be close to it. Peter and Ned could become colleagues at The Daily Bugle, where Ned could either be manipulated by the real Hobgoblin or come up with this villainous persona by himself, with the help of his powers and maybe any remains of the Green Goblin technology. A theory suggests MJ will be key in Ned becoming the Hobgoblin as now that Peter is no longer part of their lives, there could be a blossoming romance between them, but if the spell is broken, and they regain their memories, MJ would get back with Peter, leaving Ned heartbroken and coming up with his own superhero persona, but this will go wrong and he will end up becoming a villain.

What Ned Becoming Hobgoblin Would Mean For Spider-Man 4

Although the MCU’s Spider-Man has already come across some dangerous villains, most notably Thanos, if Ned becomes the Hobgoblin in Spider-Man 4, he would be the toughest villain Spider-Man has encountered due to his connection with Ned. Having his best friend become an enemy would add yet another layer of tragedy to Peter’s story, and could give Ned a tragic ending as well if Marvel decides to follow its highly criticized tradition of killing off almost every single villain. Ned’s transformation would also mirror the story of Peter 1 (Tobey Maguire), who also saw his best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco) become a villain, which could point to this being an inevitable occurrence in the multiverse.

Next: Spider-Man 4 Theory Reveals Ned Becomes Venom, Not Hobgoblin