If ever there was a law that needed to be upheld at all times in the world of upcoming Marvel movies, it’d be the code of secrecy. Two prime examples of movies that needed to abide by that code are, of course, Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home. And yet, both of those movies technically saw a breach of those rules of play.
For the former, Chris Pratt took a “super illegal” video of the Endgame set that showed off several of his co-stars standing on the set for the battle against Thanos. But in the case of Spider-Man’s epic trilogy finale, it was Tarot star Jacob Batalon who broke the rules, and he got a polite warning from Zendaya as a result.
I was able to sit down with Batalon recently, as he is promoting the release of his new horror movie, which is currently in theaters. After seeing Mr. Pratt’s release of that Avengers video in honor of The Infinity Saga capstone’s fifth anniversary, curiosity inspired me to ask if the actor behind Ned Leeds had any of his own “super illegal” moments on set. Sure enough, Jacob Batalon shared this story with CinemaBlend, revealing the goods:
When Tobey [Maguire] and Andrew [Garfield] first came, and we all had a rehearsal, I took a picture of the three of them, with Tom, on my phone. We were all just kind of discussing stuff, and Zendaya was just like, ‘You really need to lock your phone, and don’t show that to anybody.’ And I was showing everyone. That’s the one, for sure.
I honestly can’t blame Zendaya for giving that firm, but friendly warning to her Spider-Man co-star. For Jacob to have that photo on his personal phone at that early of a stage in production is pretty risky, but also admirably daring. Thinking back to Spider-Man: No Way Home’s pre-release hype, I remember the intense speculation that somehow the multiverse would deliver Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to Tom Holland’s doorstep.
Even in the face of huge neon signs of evidence, like Tobey Maguire’s infamous costume fitting, the effort to lead the public astray continued. But Jacob Batalon had a photo that could have ended that secrecy, and as you read above, he definitely shared the news with some people. And yet, that photo never seemed to leak out, nor did the information.
Showing people a photo is one thing, but sending copies for accidental distribution is another. So while Mr. Batalon’s Spider-Man: No Way Home photo would have made J. Jonah Jameson proud in any universe, the beans stayed pretty secure until Marvel Studios decided it was time to spill them.
The same could be said about Chris Pratt’s “super illegal” video from the Avengers: Endgame set. Its existence was a threat to Marvel Studios’ policy of secrecy, which could have caused a huge fracas if it got out too early. But that clip never did fall into the wrong hands, and was only released way after the fact. With that in mind, check out the embed below, and try to imagine what would have happened if this leaked during the production of the 22nd Marvel movie in order:
Secret keeping is vital to preserving the magic of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s ending. Although, the events that actually transpired during the final moments of Tom Holland’s third Spider-Man movie were so great that even that revelation would have felt tame in comparison. With Jacob Batalon’s hopes for Spider-Man 4 being in the cards, one could imagine he’d hear Zendaya’s friendly warning yet again.
Although this time, it’d probably be more of a joking reminder of the past than any sort of firm disciplinary action. Surely even Jacob Batalon knows that if there ever was a leak, Marvel Studios would know where it came from. Marvel Studios always knows.
While you can find most of the Spider-Man movies streaming in one location, No Way Home is sadly only available through FX’s separate streaming platform. However, if you want to see the two previous Tom Holland-led entries, as well as Avengers: Endgame, access to a Disney+ subscription is all you’ll need to spin that particular web. And don't forget, you can catch Jacob Batalon in Tarot, which is in theaters now!
