‘It Seems a Little Open-Ended’: Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Jacob Batalon Discusses The Movie’s Big Moment Between Peter and Ned

Spider-Man: Brand New Day actor Jacob Batalon has weighed in on the ambiguous final scene between Peter Parker and Ned, in which the pair share their old secret handshake. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Batalon suggested this could hint that a "slight glint or little glimmer" of Ned's memories of Peter has returned, though he stopped short of confirming it outright, saying the moment was deliberately left open to interpretation. The scene matters because it feeds into one of the film's central mysteries, with fans keen to know whether Ned and MJ will ever fully remember their old friend.

Brand New Day is set five years after Spider-Man: No Way Home, whose ending saw the world forget Peter's identity, and the new film confirms Ned and MJ still don't consciously remember him, despite subtle clues suggesting a subconscious connection persists, including MJ sketching Spider-Man and returning to a rooftop significant to her and Peter. Batalon admitted he was unsure of the true meaning himself, floating theories such as muscle memory, and said he had no inside knowledge of the film's post-credits scene either. With the film performing well at the box office, further exploration of Ned and MJ's memories is expected in a likely Spider-Man 5, which Marvel boss Kevin Feige has hinted is already being planned.