Days after Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed that actor Michael Keaton is playing the Vulture, another role has just been confirmed. And there's a possibility that this character could become another antagonist.
In an interview with KHON2, Hawaiian actor Jacob Batalon revealed that his character is named Ned Leeds.
"I play Peter Parker's [Tom Holland] best friend in the film. We are both in high school; we are about 15. And it's just about Peter dealing with being a superhero and going through puberty. He still has to worry about homework; he still has to worry about his crush liking him, while trying to save someone who's probably in a burning building," he said. "He can't tell anyone because he's not the cool kid, so he's just stuck with this really cool life that he can't tell anyone about."
Well, that's a surprising revelation. Is Peter's best friend in the film going to turn into a future antagonist?
Ned has been a longtime supporting character in the comic books, but he's not exactly a good friend of Peter's. They were rivals at the Daily Bugle and both were competing for the affections of Betty Brant. Most importantly, Ned was associated with the Hobgoblin. In fact, he was unmasked as the villain.
Later on, it was revealed that Roderick Kingsley actually brainwashed Ned so that he would think that he was really the Hobgoblin. Kingsley was the real Hobgoblin, but he needed a scapegoat just in case something bad happens. Once Ned was no longer needed, Kingsley let out that Ned was the Hobgoblin and soon he was killed by the Foreigner.
Is someone going to manipulate Batalon's character in the film and use him against Spider-Man? Some reports believe the film version of Ned may also incorporate some elements of the "Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man" character Ganke. So, maybe this version of Ned won't follow the same path as the comic book version.
"Spider-Man: Homecoming" is scheduled to premiere on July 7, 2017.
