No Way Home’s Alfred Molina Asked Jacob Batalon For His Autograph

Spider-Man: No Way Home star Jacob Batalon reveals Alfred Molina asked for his autograph on set. The MCU’s third Spider-Man movie has only been out in theaters for a few days, but it has swiftly made history. Armed with glowing critical reviews and a rare A+ CinemaScore, Spider-Man: No Way Home surpassed all expectations to earn $253 million in its first weekend, the third-biggest opening in history and the largest since the coronavirus pandemic began. This comes even as Covid-19 cases are surging amid the Omicron variant spreading across the globe.

Much of the excitement surrounding Spider-Man: No Way Home has been fueled by its multiversal premise, which allows for the returns of actors from previous Spidey franchises. A botched spell from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) brings five villains from alternate realities, all of whom have scores to settle with one Peter Parker. Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s marketing has put special attention on Molina’s Doc Ock; he previously appeared in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 and is widely regarded as one of the best comic book villains of all time.

Fans might’ve been hyped to have an acting legend like Molina officially join the MCU with Spider-Man: No Way Home, but he was most excited to meet one of his younger co-stars. In a recent interview with THR, Batalon – who plays Peter’s best friend Ned Leeds – revealed Molina had surprising request for him when they met on set. It turns out Molina wanted Batalon’s autograph, though it took Batalon a second to believe him. He said:

When I first met Alfred, I think, he told me that his – I believe it was his step-daughter [that] was a big fan of mine. And he asked me to give him like an autographed picture. At first I thought he was kidding, I literally thought he was just trying to pull my leg or something, but he was genuinely asking me for a picture. And I was like, ‘Of course I will.’ And now we’re best friends. [Laughs]

This sweet interaction seems to perfectly represent what Spider-Man: No Way Home has come to symbolize: Two generations coming together in a heartfelt way. Batalon must’ve been thrilled to work with Molina, but Molina proved to be just as much of a fan of the younger actor, making the entire experience very special for all involved. Spider-Man: No Way Home perfectly pairs newcomers like Zendaya and Tom Holland with acting vets such as Molina and Willem Dafoe, and it sounds like there was plenty of mutual respect going around on set.

Molina’s return as Doc Ock was one of the most hyped aspects of Spider-Man: No Way Home prior to its release, and based on fans’ reactions, it did not disappoint. He has several memorable moments in the film, including a silly moment with Holland, Batalon, and Zendaya that made it into the movie’s trailers. This might be the only time Molina gets to be in the MCU, but it’s safe to say he made the most of his Spider-Man: No Way Home appearance, especially if he got a special autograph for his daughter.

Source: THR

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Rachel Labonte
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Rachel LaBonte is a news, feature, and movie review writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for film and television. A graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She’s been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school. Most notably, she wrote for Emerson’s website Emertainment Monthly, and one of her film reviews won an Evvy (Emerson’s student awards) for Best Review. Her deep love of movies led to her working at a movie theater for five years, which she loved despite the angry customers. An avid reader who constantly buys books before reading the ones she already owns, Rachel is a huge fan of superheroes (especially of the Marvel variety) and wizards and will likely never be able to catch up on all the movies/TV shows she longs to watch.

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