The Lego Group has cast Avengers actor Tom Holland as its latest ambassador in a short film, showing that play doesn’t have an age limit.
Holland, who is known for playing Spider-Man, stars as a range of playful characters from a football star to tech entrepreneur, encouraging viewers to play.
Creative duo Los Peréz (Tania Verduzco and Adrián Pérez) directed the film through Biscuit Filmworks, which blends visual effects with real Lego builds. The global campaign was created by Lego’s in-house team, Our Lego Agency, in collaboration with creative shop Chaos x Magic.
The two-minute film, called “Never stop playing”, begins in a sci-fi movie, with Holland standing in the middle of a battleground shouting: “To survive, we must stop playing.” The British actor then breaks character and questions: “Stop playing? That doesn’t really make sense to me.”
The director announces “cut”, while AC/DC’s High Voltage plays and Holland picks up two Lego bricks, asking himself: “Why would anyone stop playing?”
Smashing the bricks together, a cinematic montage starts, featuring Holland as different characters, first as a teeth-bleached football star with Holland’s real-life twin brothers interviewing him as sports journalists, who claim he won’t be returning as the world’s best player.
The AC/DC track stops momentarily as the camera zooms in to a young child, resembling Holland, who asks: “Will you stop playing?”
Holland finds two bricks in his hand, smashes them together again announcing “never” and the montage continues, turning the world around it into Lego bricks.
Nino Gupana and Justin Joshua were the creatives from Our Lego Agency and Nils-Petter Lövgren and Zack McDonald were the creative directors from Chaos x Magic.
Nic Taylor, senior vice-president and head of Our Lego Agency, said: “I love how the team has cranked up the energy in this year’s campaign. Tom brings such a memorable interpretation to the characters he plays, proving that play isn’t just for kids – it's a powerful choice for everyone! And together with an AC/DC track, this work promises to take you on an energising and hopefully inspiring ride about the power of play and how that fuels creativity no matter what age you are.”
Accompanying the two-minute film, as well as 60-, 30- and 15-second cutdowns, the campaign consists of social vignettes, behind-the-scenes clips, static and motion out of home, and an exhibition at Lego House, featuring some of the props and Lego builds from the film and worn by Holland.
The campaign continues on Snapchat, where users can interact with an AR Lens to create a custom alter ego. Snapchatters can also play Lego arcade games via the new Lens.
Tania Verduzco and Adrián Pérez said: “We enjoyed crafting every scene as part of a broad creative world; the brick click is the catalyst that takes you everywhere your imagination wants. Tom was a great 'playmaker' to work with. His willingness to play different versions of himself and designing together all the characters was definitely one of the highlights.”
Time Based Arts did the post-production, blending digital visual effects with the real Lego builds, which include a pair of custom-made rocket-powered shoes, a full-sized Lego Botanicals suit worn by Holland, a garden, and a hummingbird that transforms into a phoenix.
Holland added: “I hope that this short film I did with the Lego Group demonstrates the idea that to play is a way of expressing who we are no matter what age! For me, it’s always been an important element of exploring the world and embracing the environment I’m in. Whether I’m on set or just hanging out with my brother and mates, I try to bring an element of play into everything I do.”
