Tom Holland turned 25 years old this week, and yet, the members of the Marvel Cinematic Universe may never stop treating him like the “little brother” of the family, the one you are comfortable messing with because, well, it’s easy and he can’t do much about it. Holland was a latecomer to the MCU, stepping into the iconic role of Spider-Man in Joe and Anthony Russo’s 2016 blockbuster, Captain America: Civil War. Since then, he’s been the target of pranks by his fellow co-stars, or singled out for his propensity for leaking important MCU spoilers ahead of time. And on the celebratory day of his birth, Holland’s Marvel colleagues really let him have it.
First up is Bucky Barnes, aka The Winter Soldier, played for years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe by Sebastian Stan. Bucky and Spidey tussled in Captain America: Civil War, so Stan and his cohort Anthony Mackie have made it their unofficial job to torture Tom Holland every chance they get. On Instagram, Stan wished Tom Holland a Happy 14th Birthday, then posted this hilarious red carpet photo of Mackie completely blocking the young British actor.
Tom Holland’s Avengers: Infinity War co-star Mark Ruffalo was a little nicer, while still managing to get in a jab. Ruffalo has earned a reputation for spoiling Marvel content, like the time his phone captured the audio at a premiere screening of Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok. So Ruffalo went after Holland on that front while wishing him a happy birthday.
And then there was the man who most recently tried to end Tom Holland’s life… on screen, at least. Jake Gyllenhaal and Holland seemed to form a real “bro-mance” while filming and then promoting 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s pretty funny that Gyllenhaal went to Instagram to share a photo of Holland’s bloody face from Spidey and Mysterio’s final encounter in London, but I suppose that’s on brand for Jake G.
A lot of Spider-Man fans thought that Marvel and Sony Pictures Entertainment would use the excuse of Tom Holland’s birthday as a reason to drop the first official teaser trailer for December’s Spider-Man: No Way Home. It didn’t happen. The two studios really seem to be keeping this upcoming sequel under lock and key, even though the media has been able to confirm the involvement of two tantalizing Spider-Man veterans in Jamie Foxx (Electro) and Alfred Molina (Doctor Octopus). The rumors suggest that this is going to be a massive Spider-Man multiverse movie, potentially with appearances by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield opposite Tom Holland.
When will that trailer drop? Hard to say right now. It’s weird that we only just found out the sequel’s official title a few weeks ago, and haven’t seen a second of actual footage for a movie that comes out in December. Make sure you continue to track the progress of all of Marvel’s Upcoming Movies through our handy guide, and then look for Spider-Man: No Way Home when it lands in theaters on December 17.
