Weaving a Tangled Web: Sony and Marvel’s Dark Spider-Verse Expands to Include ‘Madame Web’
Dakota Johnson is joining the Spider-Verse, if only on the Sony side of the action.
Johnson plays Cassandra Web, also known as Madame Web, in Sony’s upcoming film. Cassandra is a NYC paramedic who develops the power to see pivotal life or death moments that haven’t happened yet but will affect the lives of those around her. Her newfound powers give her visions of a group of girls, played by Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, and Isabela Merced, who meet violent ends.
In the trailer, we see Cassandra attempt to stop the girls from being attacked at a local diner when an even worse threat walks in: a murderous version of Spider-Man, clad in a black costume, who easily chokes out one of the girls and stabs Cassandra in the stomach. She emerges from the vision outside the diner and says, “Let’s try that again.”
Sony’s official description of the movie reads: “Meanwhile, in another universe…In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures…if they can all survive a deadly present.”
The man behind the mask is Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) who worked with Cassandra’s mother, researching spiders in the jungles. Sims is also psychic, later telling Cassandra that she has “no idea what those girls become” as quick snapshots of them sporting their own Spider-Man suits flash onscreen.
SJ Clarkson directed the movie from a screenplay written with Claire Parker from a story by Karem Sanga. Also starring are Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts and Adam Scott, who may be playing an alternate universe version of Ben Parker.
Sony predicts the film, delayed from July of this year, will finally hit theaters on February 14th, 2024.