Spider-Man’s Ned actor says a potential fourth movie "may not necessarily" involve his character

Ned Leeds in Spider-Man: No Way Home
(Image credit: Sony/Marvel)

Jacob Batalon, who played Peter Parker’s BFF Ned across three Spider-Man movies, has said that he has no idea if a fourth movie will happen – or if Ned will be in it.

In an interview with Collider, Batalon reflected on the soft-reboot ending to Spider-Man: No Way Home, which saw the world forget about Peter Parker (and by definition Spider-Man’s secret identity) thanks to Doctor Strange’s second spell.

"To have it end the way it did, on such a cliffhanger, obviously, everyone wasn't expecting that," Batalon said. "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."

Batalon added that the cast – which included Tom Holland as Spider-Man and Zendaya as MJ – "may not necessarily be a part of" a potential cinematic future for Spidey.

At the very least, he hasn’t been told if Spider-Man 4 is in the works. He said: "I feel like actors are the last people to know. I think that people assume that actors are always hiding secrets. I promise you, we don't know anything. But again, if it's the right place, at the right time, with the right group of people that we've been with, I would say, why not? We're open to the idea, but we're not hoping for it."

While things have been quiet on the Spider-Man front for some time, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige told The New York Times last year that Marvel and Sony were "actively beginning to develop where the story heads next."

The Spider-Man universe at Sony isn’t lying dormant, however. Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web movies are currently in the works, while Venom 3 is also planned. Here are more upcoming Marvel movies you should be paying attention to next.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.