Actor Jacob Batalon, one of the stars of the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home, recently shared some heart-warming behind-the-scenes photos with his co-star Tom Holland. Based on the photos, the two are having a good time working on the third installment of the Marvel Studios Spider-Man franchise.
Batalon first played Ned in Spider-Man: Homecoming and reprised the role in the sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home. He also had a brief comedic moment in Avengers: Infinity War when Ned distracts his fellow classmates on a school bus so that Peter Parker could sneak out the window to save the day. In all of these films, Ned is portrayed as Peter's best friend, and true to the comics, he's the first person (Other than Tony Stark of course) who discovers Peter's secret identity. Throughout these films, Ned acts as Peters's confidant and trusted sidekick, or as he refers to it, "The guy in the chair," a reference to the many sidekicks throughout film history who stay behind and feed the hero intel from behind a computer screen.
Based on the images Batalon shared on his Instagram account, it looks like the boys are back in school for Spider-Man: No Way Home, as they both seem to be wearing clothing bearing their school logos. Plus, they appear to be in a classroom in one photo and a gymnasium in another. However, Holland looks pretty beat up in the first photo, but Ned looks untouched. Details about the plot are scarce at the moment, but it's becoming increasingly likely that Spider-Man: No Way Home will be exploring the multiverse, as previous Spider-Man actors Tobey McGuire and Andrew Garfield have been rumored to be making an appearance in the film. On top of that actor, Alfred Molina more or less confirmed that he's reprising his role as a de-aged Doctor Octopus.
While Ned does have a comic book origin, the MCU version of the character differs greatly from his counterpart. In the comics, Ned Leeds is a fellow reporter at the Daily Bugle who competes with Peter Parker for the affections of secretary Betty Brant. Leeds was kidnapped by the Hobgoblin and brainwashed into believing he was the man behind the Hobgoblin mask. Sadly, the comic book version of Ned Leeds was eventually murdered by a villain named The Foreigner before he could prove his innocence.
While the MCU Ned Leeds shares a name with a comic book character, his personality and traits are clearly based on the best friend of another Spider-Man, Miles Morales. In the comics, Miles' best friend is named Ganke Lee, a Korean-American student who is the only person Miles shares his superhero identity with. The MCU Ned Leeds bears a lot of resemblance to this character, as they are both classmates of their respected Spider-Men and they both act as a kind of comic relief to Peter Parker and Miles Morales. Ganke has appeared across numerous Mile Morales comic book storylines and he was recently featured as a supporting character in the popular vide0 game sequel, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
It's also rumored that No Way Home may be Holland's last Spider-Man film, so perhaps he can pass the torch over to the first live-action Miles Morales. It would be weird if Ned and Ganke met each other, but maybe in the MCU Ganke is merely an alternate universe version of Ned?
Spider-Man: No Way Home is set to be released in theatres on December 16th, 2021.
Source: Jacob Batalon | Instagram