New Spidey’s fruitful year

Dacre Montgomery—Instagram

What a year it’s been for Tom Holland, who debuted as the costumed superhero Spider-Man in “Captain America: Civil War” last April.

Holland, 20, played Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts’ son in the 2012 film, “The Impossible.” In 2016, he appeared in “The Lost City of Z” and “Edge of Winter.” The actor, a skilled gymnast, finished filming “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” which will be released in July.  He will also be seen in the films, “Pilgrimage” and “The Current War,” this year.

Holland, in costume but sans mask, even visited sick children during his spare time.

The year in celebrity deaths

The year 2016 has been marked by numerous celebrity deaths, including music artists Prince, David Bowie, George Michael, Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey, Christina Grimmie, Dead or Alive’s Pete Burns; actors Anton Yelchin, Alan Rickman, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Gene Wilder, Alexis Arquette, Florence Henderson, Kenny Baker, Garry Shandling, Abe Vigoda, Alan Thicke, Van Williams, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and filmmaker Garry Marshall.

Social media site users have expressed sadness about these losses, some of them “blaming” 2016 for claiming so many talented people and for ominous political upheavals.

But optimistic TV writer and author Judd Winick recently tweeted, “Somewhere out there, another George Michael, Prince or David Bowie has been born. We need to be a world where we help them realize it.”

“Spider-Man” actor Tom Holland visits sick children during his spare time.

  Up-and-comer in high-profile 2017 projects

Australian actor Dacre Montgomery, 22, will portray Jason the Red Ranger in a popcorn flick, the rebooted “Power Rangers,” as well as play a new character in the second season of the hit Netflix series, “Stranger Things,” this year.

Montgomery will also be seen in the comedy flick, “A Few Less Men.”—OLIVER PULUMBARIT