Spider-Man: Brand New Day ended with an emotional reunion between Peter Parker and his best friend Ned, sealed with the pair's familiar handshake, sparking widespread fan speculation about what it really meant. Actor Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned, has now weighed in publicly for the first time, saying even he does not know for certain whether the moment signals that Ned has regained his lost memories of Peter, keeping the ambiguity intact for audiences still processing the film's bittersweet ending.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Batalon said the scene is deliberately open to interpretation, floating possibilities such as the handshake being pure "muscle memory" or Ned simply repeating the name Peter gives him, rather than proof of true recognition. In the film, Doctor Strange's spell had erased the world's memory of Peter Parker, so the pair's instinctive handshake after Peter reintroduces himself, followed by Ned quietly murmuring his name, left fans hopeful his memories might be returning. Batalon said he personally hopes it represents a genuine "glimmer" of recollection, though he stopped short of confirming it outright.