Dakota Johnson is joining Sony’s Spider-Verse as the psychic Madame Web in a film of the same name. The 50 Shades star is in final negotiations with the studio. Jessica Jones‘ S.J. Clarkson will direct with a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.
A Tangled Web
Madame Web will be part of Sony’s unfolding Spider-Verse of movies alongside the Venom franchise, and the upcoming Morbius and Kraven the Hunter pictures. It remains to be seen whether or not any of the live-action Spider-Men will factor into any of these. It is believed at this time that Tom Holland will continue in additional Spider-Man movies, but those are likely to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But following Spider-Man: No Way Home, it is possible that Tobey Maguire or (more likely) Andrew Garfield will be back in the red and blue spandex in upcoming flicks.
Walk Into My Parlour, Said A Spider To A Fly
The most well-known Madame Web was an elderly disabled woman, Cassandra Webb, The Amazing Spider-Man #210 in November 1980. She had precognitive abilities and helped Spider-Man find a kidnapped victim in their first encounter. She popped up occasionally to help the Wall-Crawler in subsequent adventures and was even featured in the 1990s Spider-Man cartoon and received a toy from Toy Biz as part of the accompanying action figure line.
But it’s more likely that Johnson will portray Julia Carpenter, a character that was at one time known as the second Spider-Woman. Carpenter enjoyed a lengthy run in the role, but never quite matched the popularity of the original Spider-Woman, Jessica Drew. Once Marvel brought back Drew in the role, Carpenter changed her codename to Arachne.
Cassandra Webb has a connection to Kraven the Hunter, which may factor into the movies. In the comics, Kraven’s daughter, Ana, killed Madame Web, but not before she was able to pass her superhuman abilities on to Carpenter, who acted as Madame Web from that point on.
Dakota Johnson is the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith and the granddaughter of Hitchcock great Tippi Hedren. She made her film debut in 1999’s Crazy in Alabama (which starred Griffith), before appearing in The Social Network. She co-headlined the sitcom, Ben and Kate, before landing the role of Anastasia Steele in the hit 50 Shades franchise. She has since had roles in Suspiria, Bad Times at the El Royale, The Peanut Butter Falcon, and more.
It wasn’t announced when production on Madame Web would begin but check back for updates!
