Actor Dakota Johnson is in discussion to play the Marvel character Madame Web in an upcoming film of the same name, which is being developed by Sony as part of its Spider-Man spin-offs.
SJ Clarkson, who has earlier directed episodes of Marvel’s Jessica Jones and Succession, will direct the film. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who are behind the upcoming Spider-Man spin-off Morbius, have penned the script.
If brought on board, Madame Web will mark Johnson’s Marvel debut. She has previously appeared in the Fifty Shades of Grey franchise and one of this year’s Oscar frontrunners, The Lost Daughter.
Cassandra Webb aka Madame Web first appeared in 1980, in Denny O’Neil and John Romita Junior’s comic book The Amazing Spider-Man #210. She is a part of the Spider-Man universe in the comics, but has hardly been mentioned in any of the films so far.
Madame Web is a mutant who is blind, but she is a powerful psychic. She appears when Peter Parker aka Spider-Man needs the most guidance and warns him of possible outcomes to his decisions and the lasting ramifications that might result. Spider-Man considers her a most trusted ally.
Madame Web will be a collaboration between Sony Pictures and Marvel Entertainment, which are basking in the success of their last outing, Spider-Man: No Way Home. The last part in the Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy has become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, with global collections currently standing at $1.74 billion.
Sony controls the film rights to Spider-Man and other related characters.
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The studio has also churned out movies like Venom (2018), and Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). Upcoming spin-off features in the works include the Jared Leto-starrer Morbius and Kraven the Hunter, featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
It is notable that the news of Johnson’s potential casting in Madame Web comes at a time when there is a cloud surrounding the future of the Spider-Man films. Marvel’s Kevin Feige and Sony’s Amy Pascal confirmed in December 2021 that another Spider-Man film is in the works. However, they did not divulge any further information.
With the details around Madame Web still under wraps, it remains to be seen if a connection is drawn to the Spider-Man films at all.