Dakota Johnson stars as the titular superhero in Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff. Take a look at the Madame Web trailer.
It’s been a disappointing year for superhero films. Quantumania was a bit of a dud and The Marvels has just had the lowest opening weekend of a Marvel film. Perhaps superhero fatigue has finally settled in.
Yet, the industry is showing few signs of slowing down. Our next big screen superhero adventure comes in the form of Madame Web, a supporting character in the Spider-Man comics.
Take a look at the Madame Web trailer below.
Dakota Johnson stars as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who is able to see the future – kind of. Cassandra teams up with three young women, all of whom possess Spider-y powers. Together, they hunt down Ezekiel Sims, played by Tahar Rahim, who is attempting to change his own future.
Madame Web is scheduled to be released in February, but up until now, we’ve known very little about the film, apart from its cast. Sydney Sweeney portrays Julia Carpenter, aka Spider-Woman and Adam Scott portrays a fellow paramedic. Emma Roberts, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Zosia Mamet and Mike Epps are also, somewhere, in the film. SJ Clarkson is making her feature directorial debut with the film from a script by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama.
The full synopsis doesn’t offer much new information either: “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.
Sony has had a great run with their Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tom Holland as the famed web-slinger, but the Venom films have been less favourably received. Can Madame Web strike a delicate balance between the two franchises? We also couldn’t help but notice the word ‘standalone’ doing some heavy lifting in that synopsis. Clearly, Marvel and Sony are keen on catering to an audience who are tired of watching every single TV show and every single movie but still want to watch superhero films. Marvel recently announced its upcoming series Echo as the first show under their Spotlight banner, which is designed for more character-driven stories without a connection to the larger MCU.
Madame Web swings into cinemas on the 16th February.
