Tom Holland says Peter Parker already appeared in an Iron Man film

The funny thing about creating a connected movie universe is you can easily claim characters have been part of it all along. By this logic, Tom Holland’s new comments about Peter Parker make total sense.

Confirming a long-held fan theory, Holland said Peter Parker was first introduced to the MCU all the way back in Iron Man 2—a movie that came out in 2010. It’s a stretch, but a convenient way to say, Hey, Peter Parker has been in the MCU this whole time!

Holland’s confirmation refers to a scene in Iron Man 2 when a young boy in an Iron Man mask stands up to a Hammer drone. You can watch the scene below.

I say the confirmation is convenient because we don’t actually see the young boy’s face. So, it can seemingly be anyone under that mask, but apparently it’s Peter.

Fans have long speculated the young boy is Peter for a few reasons, the biggest being the Stark Expo is being held in Queens where Peter lives.

And, as we saw in Captain America: Civil War, Peter is a huge fan of Iron Man, so seeing him at the Stark Expo fits.

This kind of retconning isn’t an unusual occurrence in such large movie universes. In fact, Spider-Man: Homecoming will likely provide answers as to where Peter Parker was when the battle of New York happened in The Avengers. Because, duh, Peter has been here the whole time.

Spider-Man: Homecoming hits theaters on July 7.