'Spider-Man' Star Jacob Batalon Talks About New Thriller, 'Reginald The Vampire'

American Actor Jacob Batalon rose to prominence as Ned Leeds, the best friend of the primary character, Tom Holland's Peter Parker, in the action trilogy "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017) and its sequels, "Far From Home" (2019) and "No Way Home" (2021).

With future stints in the Marvel Universe not anticipated to play out anytime soon, Batalon is shifting from the world of action stunts and parallel universes to dabbling into a new role that would immerse him in the realm of long-toothed undead monsters.

The actor recently scored a part in the forthcoming Syfy comedy-drama "Reginald The Vampire" and has come out to explain what fans should expect in the vampire thriller.

In a new interview with Variety, Batalon cautioned that "Reginald The Vampire" will surely put a twist on past vampire series, which are renowned only for their broody, grisly nature.

"I think our show does a really good job of putting those tropes on its head," he said. "We absolutely poke fun at the fact that vampire films are drab and sort of dark and brooding and mysterious. We don't take ourselves that seriously."

Batalon went on to say that one of the most crucial aspects of the show's storytelling element was to showcase something that was far more relatable to today's societal viewpoints. He admitted that his character was not the traditional personality chosen for such parts, yet he asserted that such changes could occur, which should no longer be considered strange.

Adapted from Johnny B. Truant's Fat Vampire novels, "Reginald The Vampire" will feature MCU star Batalon as Reginald Baskin, a recently turned plump-sized vampire existing in a world filled with gorgeous, trim, and conceited vampires.

Batalon's character quickly realizes that he still has the same personal issues as his human contemporaries, such as an overbearing employer, unrequited love, and a vampire leader who wants to end him. Eventually, Reginald finds that he possesses a few previously undisclosed powers that he hopes to exploit to his favor.

Aside from playing the protagonist, Batalon also serves as a co-executive producer, heavily involved in the series' creative process.

When asked how he got the job, Batalon claimed that it was utterly unanticipated, adding that the showrunners at Syfy called his agent, who then offered the pitch to him for consideration.

The Hawaii native remarked that the possibility to appear as the show's protagonist compelled him to take the position. However, he stated that reading the screenplay solidified his decision to pursue the role.

"[Then] we had this meeting, everybody talked about the underlying tones and what the show means and all these things, and we really clicked, and that's how I became a part of it," he added.

While Batalon and Holland had previously become acquainted after appearing in the first two installments of Jon Watt's Spiderman trilogy, the most recent sequel, "No Way Home," provided a new attraction for the "North Woods" actor.

In his interview with Variety, Batalon stated that the experience was one-of-a-kind, noting that prior iterations of the masked vigilante, played by Maguire and Garfield, were "really cool and wise and funny."

He added that having seasoned performers Willem [Dafoe], Jamie [Foxx], and Alfred [Molina] in the mix made it more surreal, giving him the most incredible time throughout the film's production.