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It's beginning to feel a lot like the Daily Bugle in here. You'll recall just a few days ago when Popverse reported on speculation that the Rhino could be joining the cast of Spider-Man: Brand New Day after a set visitor may have spotted signs of the Marvel villain. Now, we're looking into another possible villain sighting, but not from set this time - no, we're examining a rumor sparked by the social media of none other than Jacob Batalon, the MCU's Ned Leeds.

As you likely know if you're a Spider-Man fan, the internet has been abuzz with pictures from the set of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's fourth Spider-Man film, Brand New Day, as the cast and crew have posted pictures of filming currently going on in Glasgow. Batalon, who has been with the film saga since Spider-Man: Homecoming, is not in any of those photos yet, but that doesn't mean he isn't also spending time thinking about Spider-Man. On August 11, the Reginald the Vampire star posted the below picture to his Instagram stories, which was reshared by Twitter account @MyTimeToShineH.

Pictured above is Batalon holding an action figure of Spidey villain the Hobgoblin, particularly, the version of the character that appeared in 1994's Spider-Man: The Animated Series. The Hobgoblin is a villain who took on some of the technology and evil intent of big bad the Green Goblin, and in both the aforementioned animated series and the Marvel Comics that inspired them, his civilian identity is one Ned Leeds.

To be fair, the Ned Leeds that has previously appeared in Spidey adaptations is very, very different than the one we meet in the MCU, to say nothing of how different Batalon's interpretation is from the original comics. The Ned that appears opposite Tom Holland's Peter Parker is easy-going and funny, relaxed in a way that doesn't connect to his character's sinister origins.

So if Batalon really is teasing a villainous future for his character, it's going to require quite the transformation from the Ned Leeds we've come to know and love in the previous movies. Then again, Ned turning evil is just about as likely as him forgetting his best friend in the world... and we've already seen that happen, haven't we?

Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters July 31, 2026, with or without the Hobgoblin.

Marvel's most reliable superhero has proven he can do a whole lot more than just 'whatever a spider can.' Swing into Spidey's history with Popverse's 10 best Spider-Man comic books, our Spider-Man movie watch order, and if you want our opinions on the subject, read our articles ranking Spider-Man's actors and Spider-Man's girlfriends.