Spider-Man gets to stay in the MCU after all. So that means Tom Holland will stick around for at least Spider-Man 3 and an appearance in another MCU movie – probably Avengers 5, or New Avengers. People said it’s only a debunked rumor, but that may be all MCU will have in store for Spidey. In which, they’re said to be writing an endgame so Sony can’t pull this again, where his story is left on a cliffhanger. But also, Holland may get to appear in Sony’s own cinematic universe of villains with Venom, Carnage, and Morbius. And of the villains, there’s a character in this Spider-Man series that could grow into his role from the comics. Jacob Batalon plays Peter’s best friend, Ned Leeds.
Batalon has expressed that he would like to see Ned fulfill his destiny and become Hobgoblin.
In an interview with Screen Rant, Batalon spoke on his desire to become the villain.
“That just further validates my theory of Ned becoming Hobgoblin, but hey… But it’d be so great [if] they’re not going to want me to die. [I hope] they’re going to want me to stay on and be part of the Sinister Six. That’s just my theory.”
Ned Leeds was Peter’s friend in the comics. But he also became Hobgoblin. Though, Ned in the movies closer resembles Miles Morales’ friend, Ganke. He never spoke to him until the very end, but Ganke was in the animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
In the 90s animated series, Hobgoblin was voiced by legend, Mark Hamill. And his character experienced an arc that went from friend of Peter to enemy of Spider-Man’s. He was even ready to marry Mary Jane at one point.
Though Batalon’s character is pretty tight with Holland’s, I can see the MCU going this route. But it might take the brainwashing from Roderick Kingsley to do so. They may still want to do the Sinister Six. Sony was rumored to when they were broken up with Disney. But they could add Ned to the roster.
Spider-Man 3 will arrive on July 16th, 2021. There’s no telling what plot they’ll settle with at this point. It could be one with just Ned becoming the Hobgoblin. It could be the Sinister Six. It could be Peter trying to clear his name after Mysterio outed him at the end of Far From Home. And in which, Charlie Cox’s Matt Murdock could help him with the legal stuff. Or, it could be an adaptation of the Spider-verse to explain why Holland is also fighting Tom Hardy’s Venom. And it could be all of the above. For further news on the development of Spider-Man 3, stay tuned to Screen Geek.