Jacob Batalon played Peter Parker's best friend in Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man trilogy, with his character an amalgamation between Ned Leeds and Ultimate Spider-Man's Ganke. Over the course of those three movies, Ned won the hearts of fans, making the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home even more tragic.
At the end of that movie, he also forgot who Peter is, bringing a tear-jerking end to their friendship. However, it wasn't only in theaters where tears were being shed.
"We all very much were crying, our last day of work," Batalon tells Collider. "Even at the premiere, we were all crying. It was such a beautiful experience to be a part of, I think for all of us. We started at a very young age, being teenagers, essentially, when we started the first movie. And to really watch the arc of the movies come together and all of our characters come full circle, I would say that it was crazy."
"[To] have it end the way it did, on such a cliffhanger, obviously, everyone wasn't expecting that. I would say that it's such a poignant ending to our movies. It really puts an exclamation on the continuance of Spider-Man, but maybe not with us, and I think that's a great thing. We may not necessarily be a part of it, in the end, but it was a beautiful ride anyway."
Like Tom Holland, Batalon would go on to double down on that last point, suggesting Spider-Man: No Way Home really did mark the end of this era of Spidey storytelling.
"I feel like actors are the last people to know. I think that people assume that actors are always hiding secrets," Batalon responded when asked what he knows about Spider-Man 4. "I promise you, we don't know anything...We're open to the idea, but we're not hoping for it.”
As for whether he'd want to return to the franchise without director Jon Watts, he added, "Honestly, I don't really put too much thought into that. I feel like we're all really moving in ways where we're not really hoping for it to happen. Not that it's bad, I just feel like we're not really anticipating another movie. I just feel like we're all doing our own thing. Whatever happens, happens."
This is quite the contrast to previous interviews where Batalon has shared his hopes to become the MCU's Hobgoblin, though we do wonder if the actor is deliberately playing it cool. Many fans remain convinced that Spider-Man 4 will be released in 2024 or 2025, though if that is the case, we'll surely get some official news soon.
Check out our interview with Spider-Man: No Way Home star Tom Holland below: