There were plenty of unconfirmed details about Spider-Man: No Way Home leading up to its release. While some of these proved true, such as the shocking inclusion of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, other such details were not. This included details regarding Ned Leeds, who some suspected would become Hobgoblin at some point during the film. While this transformation never happened, it’s worth pointing out that Spider-Man: No Way Home did set the stage for Ned to become the iconic villain.
This transformation is potentially foreshadowed when Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker discusses his past experiences with Harry Osborn. He noted how the character eventually turned evil, and attempted to kill him, and ultimately died in Peter’s presence. Ned Leeds notices the potential parallel for his friendship with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker to go the same way, and apologizes in advance just in case.
While this doesn’t quite indicate that Ned has to become the Hobgoblin, it certainly would be a great way to foreshadow his transformation if he does. And that’s definitely something that eagle-eyed fans of the comics have noticed. So it seems safe to say that the scene was included for a reason.
It’s worth noting that a variety of characters have become Hobgoblin at different points in the comics. At one point, it is indeed Ned Leeds, but only because he’s brainwashed into thinking such. It’ll be interesting to see if such a moment gets adapted for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. With the way the films have gone so far, however, it’s truly unpredictable to tell where they could go next. But they’ve certainly laid the groundwork to do whatever they might want, and that does include making Ned into the Hobgoblin.
In the meantime, fans got to see Willem Dafoe return as the Green Goblin for Spider-Man: No Way Home – and that’s certainly worth celebrating. He’s always been considered one of the best live-action comic book supervillains, so seeing him come back and within the MCU is truly a treat. As such, it’ll be interesting to see how Ned Leeds might be treated within the same continuity.
After so much anticipation, the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently available in theaters.