The Spider-Man franchise in the MCU is expected to take a whole new direction following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. SPOILER ALERT!
The ending of Spider-Man: No Way Home saw Peter Parker (Tom Holland) realize that the only way he can save the world is by having Doctor Stange (Benedict Cumberbatch) cast a spell that would make everyone in the world forget who he is. This would include his girlfriend Michelle Jones (Zendaya) and his best friend Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon).
This made for a really emotional ending where Peter said goodbye to his friend and his love and promised them that he would return and make them remember him but when he does come back he realizes that they are safer and happier without him in their life and he decides to leave them alone. This causes Peter to go solo and truly become the Spider-Man people know from the comics; a lone wolf.
This ending left the idea of the characters like Ned Leeds returning to the MCU a little in doubt since it’s clear the Spider-Man franchise is going in a completely new direction now.
The actor who plays Ned Leeds in the movies, Jacob Batalon, has spoken up about his future in the MCU while speaking to Collider and it seems he is as in the dark as the rest of us:
“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.”
Ned’s character was given some development in Spider-Man: No Way Home, as it was revealed that he comes from a lineage of magicians and has sorcerer abilities like Doctor Strange which could be explored further should he return in future movies.
:quality(85):upscale()/2023/09/13/661/n/1922564/e914a1066501cc897903d6.08615338_.png)
