Jacob Batalon, a Filipino-American actor who recently made his debut in the film North Woods, is playing Ned Leeds, Peter Parker’s high school buddy as seen in the new trailer for the upcoming movie Spider-Man: Homecoming.
In the trailer, Batalon is shown as an effective comic relief and convincing confidant to young Peter Parker. While his character’s name is a known supporting character in the comics, Batalon’s portrayal looks a lot closer to Ganke Lee’s persona.
While a minor character, fans and movie buffs believe that Ned Leeds marks a step forward for Asian representation in the Marvel cinematic universe.
According to a popular entertainment site, Batalon’s character is supposedly an amalgamation of Leeds, Peter Parker’s Daily Bugle co-worker in the original comics, and Ganke Lee, a supporting character of Miles Morales’ Spider-Man series.
“This is just a small taste of it, but I’m honestly so excited for the film. After we wrapped, I was so anxious to get everything going and now that we’re a month away from the release, it’s just like crazy now,” the 20-year-old actor said during a recent promo tour in Singapore.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is scheduled to hit theaters in July. It stars British actor Tom Holland as the titular web-slinging hero, Michael Keaton as the Vulture, Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson, Laura Harrier as Liz Allan and Zendaya as Michelle, Peter’s love interest.