Madame Web is an upcoming American superhero film based on Marvel Comics featuring the character of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and Di Bonaventura Pictures in association with Marvel Entertainment. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is intended to be the fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU). The film is directed by S. J. Clarkson, who co-wrote the screenplay with Claire Parker and the writing team of Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. It stars Dakota Johnson in the title role, alongside Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, and Tahar Rahim. In the film, Cassie Webb (Johnson) confronts her past while trying to save three young women and their futures from a deadly adversary.
Sony began development on a Madame Web film for its shared universe by September 2019, with Sazama and Sharpless hired to write the script. Clarkson joined as director in May 2020, making the film her feature film directorial debut, while Johnson was cast in early 2022. This was followed by additional castings in the following months, particularly for the three Spider-Women characters. The film is a suspense thriller that depicts the titular character’s origin story in a standalone universe with an approach that was more grounded and gritty compared to many previously released superhero films. Filming began in mid-July 2022 and wrapped before the end of the year, occurring in Boston, throughout Massachusetts, and in New York City. Clarkson and Parker’s involvement as writers was revealed in November 2023.
Madame Web is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 14, 2024.
Premise:
Cassandra “Cassie” Webb is forced to confront her past while trying to survive with three young women with powerful futures who are being hunted by a deadly adversary.
Cast:
Certainly! Here’s a cast table for the key characters in the upcoming film “Madame Web”:
| Character | Actor/Actress | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cassandra “Cassie” Webb / Madame Web | Dakota Johnson | A paramedic in Manhattan and a clairvoyant who, after an accident, develops psychic abilities allowing her to see future events within the “spider world.” In her 30s, Cassie is portrayed as an inexperienced clairvoyant learning her powers. The film’s portrayal differs from the comic book version, emphasizing her wit, humor, and abrasiveness, balanced with compassion. Johnson and director S. J. Clarkson sought to embrace and adapt character traits from the comics while providing a fresh perspective. |
| Julia Cornwall / Spider-Woman | Sydney Sweeney | Julia Cornwall, known as Spider-Woman, is a character portrayed by Sydney Sweeney. Further details about the character’s role and storyline in the film are yet to be revealed, maintaining an element of anticipation. |
| Mattie Franklin / Spider-Woman | Celeste O’Connor | Celeste O’Connor takes on the role of Mattie Franklin, also known as Spider-Woman. Mattie’s character details in the film are expected to unfold as part of the narrative. |
| Anya Corazon / Araña | Isabela Merced | Isabela Merced plays the character of Anya Corazon, also known as Araña. Anya is one of the three young women Cassie Webb seeks to save from a deadly adversary, and her character is anticipated to play a significant role in the storyline. |
| Ezekiel Sims | Tahar Rahim | Tahar Rahim portrays Ezekiel Sims, an explorer with enhanced strength and health abilities acquired from a powerful spider during an expedition in the Amazon rainforest. Sims possesses clairvoyance, allowing him to see the future and his own death, leading him to hunt three young women with the potential to become Spider-Women. Described as intense with a level of ambiguity and layered complexity, he wears a black Spider-Man-styled suit. |
| Undisclosed Roles | Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, Zosia Mamet | Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, and Zosia Mamet have been cast in undisclosed roles, adding an element of mystery to the film. Details about their characters are yet to be revealed, leaving room for speculation and anticipation among the audience. |
The ensemble cast, led by Dakota Johnson, promises a captivating and diverse portrayal of characters within the “Madame Web” universe, offering a unique and fresh perspective on the Marvel Comics narrative.
Production:
After their work on the Marvel Comics-based film Morbius (2022), part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU), Sony Pictures hired Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless in September 2019 to write a script centered around the Marvel character Madame Web.[15] Sony’s executive vice president Palak Patel was overseeing the project.[16] Kerem Sanga had previously written a draft for the film.[17] In May 2020, S. J. Clarkson was hired to develop and direct Sony’s first female-centric Marvel film, which was reported to be Madame Web.[18][19] The studio was looking to attach a prominent actress such as Charlize Theron or Amy Adams to the project, before hiring a new writer to further develop the film with her in mind.[18] After meeting with several “A-listers” for the title role, Sony narrowed their shortlist during December 2021 and January 2022. Dakota Johnson became the frontrunner by the end of 2021, and was in talks to star as Madame Web by early February. Clarkson was confirmed to be directing Madame Web at that time.[17] In March, Sydney Sweeney was cast in the film alongside Johnson.[20] Justin Kroll of Deadline Hollywood described the project as being “Sony’s version of Doctor Strange” due to Madame Web’s comic book abilities, though he noted that the film could be departing from the source material since the comics version of Madame Web is an elderly woman, named Cassandra Webb, connected to a life-support system that looks like a spider web. Kroll noted because of this that the film reportedly could “turn into something else”.[17] Grant Hermanns of Screen Rant noted speculation on whether Johnson was playing Cassandra Webb or the younger Julia Carpenter, who was the second character in the comics to be known as Madame Web.[21] A month later, Sony gave Madame Web a release date of July 7, 2023, and confirmed Johnson and Sweeney would star in the film.[22]
Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who produced the film for Sony through his production company Di Bonaventura Pictures,[1] described the film as a thriller and called the titular character’s clairvoyance a “tricky skill set” that was not likely to be used for an action film. He said the studio chose to keep details on the film secretive given the character was not well known to general audiences.[23] Sweeney said the film was different from audiences’ expectations of superhero films.
Music:
Johan Söderqvist was revealed to be composing the film’s score, after previously working with Clarkson on Anatomy of a Scandal (2022), in November 2023.
Marketing:
The first trailer for the film was released on November 15, 2023. While commenting about the trailer, McKinley Franklin at Variety described Madame Web as a suspense thriller.[61] Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge felt the trailer did not give an indication as to what universe the film was set in or why the film’s antagonist Ezekiel Sims wore a suit similar to that of the character Spider-Man, and found it weird to see another Marvel-based project from Sony centered on the Spider-Man lore from the comics without featuring the Spider-Man character.[62] Zoe Guy, writing for Vulture, said the trailer provided a lot of details and highlighted its use of “Bury a Friend” by Billie Eilish.[63] Joshua Rivera of Polygon criticized the trailer for focusing its three-minute runtime on explaining Cassandra Webb’s powers and appearing as a “run-of-the-mill 2000s thriller” instead of showcasing the “wildly interesting and truly strange” Spider-Man-related characters.[64] Conversely, Graham Day at The Escapist was excited for the film by the trailer and highlighted Sony’s unconventional and eccentric style, which he noted had resulted in commentators making various memes surrounding the film. Day compared such moments to similar scenes and responses to Sony’s Venom (2018) and Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, feeling the stunt work in the trailer was fascinating and similar to that of The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), which he felt was under-appreciated.[65] One line of dialogue from the trailer delivered by Johnson, stating “[h]e was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died”, received particular mockery from commentators, with several memes incorporating the line into other film quotes.
Release:
Madame Web is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on February 14, 2024,[51] in IMAX, 4DX, and ScreenX.[43][67] It was previously scheduled for July 7, 2023,[22] October 6, 2023,[39] and then on February 16, 2024.[43] This will be the first film to use the new Columbia Pictures logo commemorating the studio’s 100th anniversary, with a computer-generated animated version of the “Lady with the Torch” iconography.[68]
In December 2022, Sony signed a long-term deal with the Canadian-based streaming service Crave for their films starting in April 2023, following the films’ theatrical and home media windows. Crave signed for the “pay-one” window streaming rights, which included Madame Web.
