Dakota Johnson is having a banner year.
After starring in Maggie Gyllenhaal's awards contender The Lost Daughter, she appeared in two Sundance films in January and is set to lead
Netflix's adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion sometime in 2022.Now, the latest addition to her list of projects? A possible Spider-Man spinoff: In February, reports broke that Johnson is in talks to star as the titular role in Sony's Madame Web. Insiders told Variety at the time the deal was not yet final, but now it seems more details on the project are coming to the surface. Here's what we know.
First, who is Madame Web?
The character was first introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man comics in the ‘80s and is “a clairvoyant mutant who specializes in predicting the future of Spider-themed superheroes, having mentored not only Peter Parker’s alter ego, but also multiple generations of heroes calling themselves Spider-Woman,” per The Hollywood Reporter. Also known as Cassandra Webb, she's portrayed on the page as a blind and paralyzed elderly woman aided by a web-like life support machine. We'll see if or how the screen adaptation will reinterpret the character.
Deadline reported in March: “Insiders say due to her psychic sensory powers, she is essentially Sony’s version of Doctor Strange.”
Who else is in the cast?
While Sony has yet to officially confirm any casting news, Deadline has reported an exciting update: Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney is joining Johnson in Madame Web. Her character is still unknown, though.
The film will be helmed by S.J. Clarkson, who has directed Marvel TV projects like The Defenders and Jessica Jones, and written by Morbius screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.
When will it be released?
It's still too early to say, given the cast is still being announced. However, speculation about a Madame Web film began in 2020 when Clarkson's directing gig went public. This would be Sony's first Marvel superhero movie with a female lead, as Variety pointed out. The studio's other Marvel titles include Venom, starring Tom Hardy; Morbius, starring Jared Leto; and of course three Spider-Men: Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland.