Published Jun 21, 2026, 11:51 PM EDT
An avid comic book fan since she first read "Stan Lee's Soapbox," Allison Hambrick is your friendly neighborhood generalist writer. Journalism, editing, media production, copywriting—she does it all. From her very first blog post about Smallville as a primary schooler, Allison developed a passion for superheroes and the entertainment industry at large.
Majoring in writing and film at SCAD, Allison put her skills to work writing, editing, podcasting, and more. Currently, she moonlights as an editor at the ASHRAE Journal by day and Screen Rant by night. Allison also previously worked for Warner Bros. Entertainment and for Disney.
Through her writing, she hopes to inspire, to entertain, and to empower others to be the best versions of themselves, and her mission in life is to make Stan proud. In her free time, she enjoys reading, video game design, traveling, and spending time outside with her dogs, Loki and Elphaba. Allison is fluent in movie quotes, and her favorite film is Superman II.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day promises to pit Tom Holland's Spider-Man opposite Jon Bernthal's Punisher in a tonally surprising pairing.
While Spidey is often family-friendly, the Punisher is the quintessential R-rated antihero, meaning Brand New Day has to reconcile these tones. Helmed by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Destin Daniel Cretton, the film stars Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Sadie Sink, Mark Ruffalo, and Michael Mando, in addition to Holland and Bernthal.
Though combining the world of the Punisher with that of Spider-Man was a tall order, Holland was up to the challenge. "I love trying to figure out how you take a really R-rated character and fit him into our world without changing him," the actor told Fandango (via Rotten Tomatoes). "And there are loads of fun little Spider-Man quips that we use to kind of get around... LIke every time he goes to swear, we just web his mouth."
In spite of how different Bernthal and Holland may seem onscreen in the MCU, the actors actually have a long-standing friendship, tracing back over a decade. "I'm so excited for people to see Jon Bernthal in this film," Holland said. "There's no secret that I absolutely adore him as a person. I've known him since I was a kid. I know his family really well. You know, I knew his kids when they were [...] really little."
Aside from their personal bond, Holland revealed that their Marvel fates shared an interesting origin. "We did each other's audition tapes to get Spder-Man and the Punisher back when I was 17, I think," he explained, before shifting focus back to Brand New Day. "And what was on the page was the kernel of an idea that turned into this, like, awesome big brother, little brother bickering relationship... Like the banter between the two of us is really, really awesome, and he's so great."
While their subsequent MCU journeys were largely separate, with Bernthal on the television side and Holland on the film side, Brand New Day presents the opportunity for the stars to translate their real-life friendship to the screen. Even so, Holland is quick to direct the praise back to his costar. "I think people are going to love [Bernthal] in this film," Holland concluded. "I think he, when he is onscreen, he sets such a great tone."
Spider-Man: Brand New Day swings into theaters on July 31, 2026.
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