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The stars have aligned for Jacob Batalon. The Spider-Man and Reginald the Vampire actor garnered good reviews for his role as funny guy Paxton in the trippy Sony horror thriller Tarot, which hit theaters last week. Now, there’s buzz about Season 2 of Reginald the Vampire, which drops May 8 on Syfy. Based on the Fat Vampire books, the hit series centers around a newbie young vampire who struggles to find his groove in a world of traditionally beautiful vampires. Batalon is also an executive producer on the series.
In this exclusive MovieWeb interview, the actor opens up about taking on Tarot, the upcoming season of Reginald the Vampire, possibly diving into another Spider-Man outing, the moment he seriously considered becoming an actor, and much more. We even go so far as to pull a few tarot cards for Batalon for a mini-reading. Read on or watch the video interview.
Tarot Is a Different Take on the Genre
Tarot (2024)
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Director
- Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg
- Runtime
- 92 minutes
- Main Genre
- Horror
- Studio(s)
- Screen Gems , Alloy Entertainment , Ground Control
- Distributor(s)
- Sony Pictures Releasing
Like the thriller Tarot, it’s best to get some astrology out of the way first. Jacob Batalon is a Libra. His birthday is Oct. 9. In Tarot, his character is a totally different sign. Libras, we’re told, love to weigh things out when it comes to making decisions. “I will say that I try to see both sides for sure,” Batalon said. “I’m not necessarily one who can pick one thing immediately, so maybe indecisive might be more the word.”
Fun fact: As far as we know, he doesn’t own a tarot deck, but he was jazzed to play funny guy Paxton in the suspenseful horror film directed by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg. The film tracks seven college pals who tempt destiny when they combine astrology with an ancient tarot deck, which, unbeknownst to them, is cursed.
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“Paxton is sort of the funny best friend to our friend Ruth,” Batalon shared. “He starts out in the movie as very bullish on things like terror, which makes jokes of it, but as the horrors continue to happen, he realizes that it’s definitely happening, and he becomes a full-on freak with it, and hopefully, he doesn’t die.”
“I thought it was really fun and a really different take on the horror genre. We’ve never really seen something based on tarot before. I feel like a lot of young people today are into star signs and whatnot. It’s very relatable in that sense. And having a bunch of college friends and making jokes about it is going to be great.”
Reginald the Vampire Season 2
After it debuted nearly two years ago, Reginald the Vampire quickly became a hit for Syfy. The premise finds Reginald (Batalon) killed by the enemies of a slick vampire known as Maurice (Mandela Van Peebles). The only way to save Reginald is for Maurice to turn him into a vampire. All too quickly, Reginald must learn how to adapt yet keep his vampire cravings hidden.
“You know, honestly speaking, I did not know what to expect,” Batalon says after the series debuted, “but I just knew it was a very fun and different show that we had not really seen yet. I was really just looking forward to being a part of something very special, and I’m really glad that people have received it really well. I want nothing more than to make people happy.”
In Season 2, fans can expect the “blood war” to figure, tying into the growing battle between vampires and angels. “The romance, the drama, and the comedy are all on another level,” Batalon teases. “We see Reginald try to figure out how to beat the angels as soon as possible because they will be wiped out in 30 days. It’s pretty crazy. And there’s still funny things.” When asked how he has adapted to being the headliner of his very own series, Batalon added:
“
It feels super awkward to be the reason why the show is going. Because I love everyone I work with, and I love that they work with me
… and there’s this thing when you make movies and TV, obviously, like a shot list, and what you need to capture in a scene. A lot of it is just my reaction, and it just feels super awkward to be the main point of everything.”
“But it’s special,” he went on, “and I love everyone who I work with on the show because they’re so happy to be a part of it. And they’re shining just as much, if not more than me, in the show. I’d have to say when I was in Portugal, and I was at the TV convention and I saw a big poster of me at the convention center, I felt like [the series] is really different.”
Batalon’s Favorite Spider-Man Movie and Future Possibilities
Spider-Man: No Way Home, the third film in the MCU’s spidey-verse, garnered a whopping $1.89 billion at the global box office. Of the three films, does Jacob Batalon have a favorite? “Probably the first one [Spider-Man: Homecoming] has a very special place in my heart because it was like my first job ever, and it was sort of the one that started everything for me in my career, and how I got together with everyone and how we became really close.” And would he be open to another MCU adventure? “There are so many variations of Spider-Man out there. I honestly can’t say,” he shared.
“
Across the Spider-Verse
… they’ve covered
a lot of characters
that I feel will be great stand-alone
Spider-Man
stories for sure. But it’s hard to say. Everything is up in the air when it comes to superhero stuff.”
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But what if his character, Ned, crossed over into another Marvel film? “It would be awesome to be a part of something really cool and fun again, but I think it’s just really up to them. You’re kind of just hoping for a phone call at some point. Or not really hoping, you’re just like, maybe get a phone call someday.”
Swinging Back to Batalon’s Upbringing
Born and raised in Honolulu to Filipino parents, Batalon never intended to become an actor. He sang and studied ukulele and music theory. But while attending a two-year acting program at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, Batalon had a change of heart.
“I was in a sound movement class, and we were exploring different things that your body can do in terms of making noise,” he recalled. “We were doing things like playing with our physical space and slapping things together and banging on the wall. It looked very ridiculous. But for some reason, in that class in particular, I just felt like, ‘Wow, I could really do something with this creative space, just doing whatever I want.’ Then we started doing a lot of Shakespeare and scene study and whatnot. I feel like that really grew my passion for… performance.”
He’d go on to send in a self-taped submission for a vague supporting role in a Marvel movie, his first audition ever. Suddenly, Batalon was doing a chemistry read with Tom Holland. After three Spider-Man films and several MCU-related projects, fans have come to love Batalon’s comedic timing as Peter Parker’s best pal.
How About a Tarot Reading in Real Time?
“Oh no!” Batalon groaned when we pulled a tarot card for him. We couldn’t resist. After all, he is starring in a movie called Tarot. The actor was game, however. So, we pulled two cards for him – from the Meryl Streep Tarot Deck. Yes. There is one. There’s also a Golden Girls Tarot Deck, but since we’re chatting with an actor, why not grab a card from the one and only Meryl Streep?
Batalon’s first card: The Hanged Man. It’s all about surrender. Or, perhaps, seeing the world or a situation from another perspective. The second card, Six of Swords, typically relates to overthinking or having too much on one’s mind. “Oh, man, that is crazy, because I do overthink. That’s good advice. Thank you.” Any time. Meanwhile, tune into Reginald the Vampire on May 8 on Syfy. Catch Tarot in theaters. Watch the trailer below.
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