More Spider-Man: No Way Home concept art has surfaced, this time offering a closer look at Ned Leeds' apparent transformation into the Hobgoblin.
The image was presented without context in the movie's recently released "Art of" book, leading us to believe Marvel Studios considered sending Peter Parker's best pal down a villainous route. Instead, we've now learned this was meant as little more than a visual gag and nod to the comic books.
Artist Phil Saunders explains, "This was an early idea proposed where Ned gets a shot at riding the Goblin Glider during the final battle, a nice bit of fan service given Ned's ultimate turn in the comic book universe."
"As serendipity would have it, Queens' own Mets wear orange and blue, the colours of Hobgoblin, so I have Ned wearing the hoodie as another little nod. But just to show you how far we take research and character-building in Vis Dev, Ned's wearing the number 50, [a] homage to Benny Agbayani, the Hawaiian-Filipino Mets left-fielder who would undoubtedly be one of Ned's heroes, given their shared heritage."
"I painted the image in Photoshop," he continued, "and modelled and rendered the Glider in Modo based [on] my colleague Josh Nizzi's masterful update on the original."
On the page, Ned was brainwashed into becoming Hobgoblin by the real Hobbie, Roderick Kingsley. It's possible the MCU Variant of Ned will eventually suit up, though we'd rather see him used as a pawn in Roderick's games than becoming a full-blown enemy to Spider-Man.
Then again, who knows what sort of impact having his memory wiped will have on the teenager!
Take a closer look at Spider-Man: No Way Home's "Hobgoblin" in action below.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, for the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighbourhood hero's identity is revealed, bringing his superhero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk.
When he enlists Doctor Strange’s help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who’ve ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.
The movie stars Tom Holland, Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Marisa Tomei, J. B. Smoove, Benedict Wong, J.K. Simmons, Alfred Molina, Jamie Foxx, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Haden Church, and Rhys Ifans.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now available to buy wherever movies are available.