Spider-Man: Brand New Day opened to $360 million domestically — the United States and Canada — setting the biggest domestic opening weekend of all time and surpassing Avengers: Endgame, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Its worldwide opening reached $941 million, second only to Endgame. The film was directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.

Now the box-office juggernaut has a conversation piece to match. THR published an interview on 4 August with actor Jacob Batalon, who plays Ned Leeds, about the film's ending and its much-discussed handshake scene. The exchange between Ned and Tom Holland's Peter Parker has roots going back to the 2017 film Spider-Man: Homecoming, where the friends' handshake first appeared.

In the final scene of Brand New Day, set at a bodega, Peter reintroduces himself to Ned as "Peter" before they shake hands. Ned seemingly recognises him for the first time in four years, responding with a single word: "Peter?" The moment lands because, at the end of 2021's No Way Home, Peter asked Doctor Strange to erase everyone's memory of him — including Ned's — to save the world. The handshake at the bodega is the first sign that something may be stirring beneath that wipe.

Fans have split on what to make of it. Some argue that Ned's muscle memory is all that remains, and that his utterance of "Peter" simply connects to an earlier reveal by MJ that Spider-Man's name is Peter — not a genuine recollection. Others have theorised that Jean Grey's psionic freeze, which affected a large part of New York City's population during the film, helped begin restoring Ned and MJ's memories. Batalon, for his part, told THR the meaning is open-ended and up to interpretation. He leaned toward the idea that some progress has been made toward reviving Ned's memories of Peter, without closing the door on other readings.

There is also a post-credits breadcrumb. Batalon's modulated voice appears in an animated end-credits scene, though no live actors appear in it. The scene uses Ned's Spidey Tracker app to detect Spider-Man in space, indicating that Peter is not on Earth, as Forbes reported on 30 July. Where he is headed, and whether Ned's memories return in full, are questions for the next chapter.

For now, the handshake stands as the film's emotional question mark — a small gesture in a bodega carrying the weight of a wiped-clean friendship. Batalon's read on it is the closest thing to an answer, and he is leaving the door open.