Moviefone Editorial

Tag: Madame Web

  • Donald Glover Starring in ‘Spider-Man’ Spin-Off

    Donald Glover attends the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards
    Donald Glover attends the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on January 8, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

    Donald Glover is finally ready for his Spider close-up.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, the ‘Community’ veteran and ‘Atlanta’ creator/star is on board to star in and produce a currently untitled movie featuring obscure ‘Spider-Man’ villain the Hypno-Hustler.

    So who is this little-known baddie? Created by Bill Mantlo (who also created Rocket Racoon, who has gone on to be a key part of Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies), and artist Frank Springer, Hypno-Hustler was a disco-era character who first appeared in ‘Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man’ No. 24 in 1978. His real name was Antoine Delsoin, the leader of a band called the Mercy Killers and used hypnosis technology in his instruments on his audience in order to rob them.

    It doesn’t sound like the source material for the greatest cinematic villain, but in Glover’s hands it should be something fun––he’s not a creative type who sticks to the basics.

    The new Spider-Universe movie is at an early stage right now; it doesn’t have an announced title but we do know who hatched the idea to turn the character into a movie: Myles Murphy, the son of actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, is on board to write the project.

    Glover’s history with ‘Spider-Man’ stretches back at least a decade, though. His ‘Community’ character Troy was seen wearing Spider-Man pajamas in the episode “Anthropology 101”. Fans jumped on the idea that he could be ideal to play Miles Morales in a future Spidey films.

    Donald Glover and Tom Holland in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming.'
    (L to R) Donald Glover and Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming.’

    Their hopes were not realized––at least, on the live-action front––as Andrew Garfield was cast as Peter Parker in 2012’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’.

    Still, Glover did get to play Miles, albeit in voice form, in TV series ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ in 2015.

    And while the live-action cinematic Spider-universe stayed Parker-central with 2017’s ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ Glover appeared briefly as a character named Aaron David, who Spidey encountered while the man was trying to by advanced weapons from the Vulture’s crew. A deleted scene from the movie suggested that Aaron was Miles Morales’ uncle (Mahershala Ali voiced the character more officially in ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’).

    This is the latest development in Sony’s ever-expanding batch of movies based in the world of the web-slinger, even if most of them won’t feature the (Spider) man himself.

    With two ‘Venom’ films and ‘Morbius’ already out in the world, the future for Sony is certainly entangled in a web. Movies on the way include ‘Kraven the Hunter’, due October 6th next year, followed by ‘Madame Web’ on February 16th, 2024. In development, meanwhile, are ‘El Muerto’, a third ‘Venom’ and a slate of TV series set in the same universe.

    Marvel Comics' Hypno-Hustler.
    Marvel Comics’ Hypno-Hustler. Photo courtesy of Marvel.com.
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  • Sydney Sweeney Starring in New ‘Barbarella’

    Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard in HBO's 'Euphoria.'
    Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard in HBO’s ‘Euphoria.’ Photo: Eddy Chen/HBO.

    Off the back of roles on shows such as ‘Euphoria’ and ‘The White Lotus’, Sydney Sweeney is keeping her big screen career bubbling in a big way. And she’s become a firm favorite at Sony, with whom she is developing several projects.

    The latest, per Deadline, is a remake of ‘Barbarella’.

    Roger Vadim’s 1968 campy cult classic follows an astronaut from the 41st century (Jane Fonda) who sets out to find and stop the evil scientist Durand Durand (Milo O’Shea), whose Positronic Ray threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy. It was sexy, it was over the top and while it didn’t exactly set the box office alight, it has outlived the critical reaction and remains one of Fonda’s most iconic roles.

    The film was based on the controversial comic books character created by Jean-Claude Forest for serialization in the French ‘V Magazine’ in spring 1962. In 1964, Éric Losfeld published the strips as a stand-alone book titled ‘Barbarella’. The book caused a scandal and became known as the first “adult” comic book, with the title character frequently depicted having sex.

    Several different attempts at a remake have floated around in the last couple of decades.

    Drew Barrymore was briefly attached to a new take on the tale shortly before the arrival of 2000’s ‘Charlie’s Angels’. That one would have seen her playing a woman who discovers a secret about her planet and leading a revolution.

    Scrub forward to 2007 and you have news that Robert Rodriguez had been developing his own version for a few years, planned to star then-girlfriend Rose McGowan. But though he got an offer from a German company to stump up the budget, he didn’t take because it meant shooting overseas, away from his family. And an attempt to set it up with Universal stalled for other financial reasons.

    Jane Fonda in 1968's 'Barbarella.'
    Jane Fonda in 1968’s ‘Barbarella.’ Photo courtesy of Paramount Movie’s YouTube channel.

    “Universal had initially signed on for $60 million,” Rodriguez told The New York Observer, “but then when we were done with the script it wound up at closer to $82 million, and they had just financed a Will Ferrell movie (‘Land of the Lost’) that was a $130 million and they even cut that down to $100 million.”

    Around the same time, veteran James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were hired by Gaumont International Television to script a TV adaptation, one that eventually ended up in the hands of ‘Drive’ director Nicolas Winding Refn. Yet even that ultimately went nowhere, drifting off into the endless wastes of the development galaxy.

    According to Deadline, Sweeney will produce the new movie for Sony, which will now look to lock in a writer and director to move it forward.

    It’s just the latest move for the actor, who already has a role in ‘Madame Web’, due in theaters on February 16, 2024.

    She’s also filmed a role in crime drama ‘National Anthem’, is developing novel adaptation ‘The Registration’ and has mystery TV series ‘The Players Table’ in the works.

    Even more recently, she’s now teaming up with Universal to adapt Marcus Kliewer’s short story ‘The Caretaker’, which tells the story of a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist and quickly discovers her responsibilities have stakes far greater (and more dangerous) than she could have ever imagined.

    That one will be produced by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes company.

    Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard in HBO's 'Euphoria.'
    Sydney Sweeney as Cassie Howard in HBO’s ‘Euphoria.’ Photo: Eddy Chen/HBO.
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  • Sony Plans New ‘Karate Kid’ Movie

    Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi in 1984's 'The Karate Kid.'
    (L to R) Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso and Pat Morita as Mr. Miyagi in 1984’s ‘The Karate Kid.’

    In amongst a batch of release date announcements, Sony quietly confirmed something that has been rumored for a while now. The studio is ready to get back in the ring for some more martial arts action, as another ‘Karate Kid’ movie is in the works.

    Rather than focusing on Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio), Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka) or the more recent version of ‘Karate Kid’ in 2010 that starred Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan, this will be an entirely new story – though still focusing on Kung Fu as in the 2010.

    According to an August report from Murphy’s Multiverse, the new movie would focus on a teenager named Li who, after a tragedy, moves from Beijing to Brooklyn with his mother, a doctor.

    Dealing with a life that has suddenly been uprooted, Li tries to make it work in New York, and meets a student at his new school named Mia. He ends up training her father, Victor, in Kung Fu, much against the wishes of his mother, who abhors violence and fighting. It’s certainly a different dynamic from the usual older-mentor-younger-student style of the previous movies.

    All of this, of course, is only rumor for now, though that report mentioned ‘Peter Rabbit’s Rob Lieber writing the script.

    Disappointingly, the movie won’t involve the team or cast from ‘Cobra Kai’, which has been expanding the ‘Karate Kid’ franchise for several years now on TV screens, first on YouTube and then Netflix.

    A fifth season of the show just landed on the streaming service and while we can understand that creators Jon Hurwitz, Josh Heald and Hayden Schlossberg might be too busy on the next season (and the other projects they’ve set up in the wake of ‘Cobra Kai’s success), we can’t help but wonder what that team would have done with a new movie, ramping up the continuing story of Daniel, Johnny and their various students.

    Hurwitz confirmed as much on Twitter, answering a fan who asked if he and the team would be part of the new movie.

    Assuming it all comes together, the new ‘Karate Kid’ will be out on June 7th, 2024.

    And that’s not the only movie landing a release date – or seeing one shift. Among the other announcements are an untitled based-on-truth ghost story launching on January 6th next year, followed by the next installment of the ‘Searching’ franchise, called ‘Missing’, on February 24th.

    Adam Driver-sci-fi movie ‘65’ is shifting to March 10th, while Sony/Marvel movie ‘Kraven the Hunter’ is on the move to 6th October.

    Fellow Sony/Marvel title ‘Madame Web’, meanwhile, is headed out of 2023 altogether, moving to February 16, 2024. The new animated ‘Garfield’ movie will open May 24th, 2024, while an untitled Sony/Marvel title is scheduled for July 12th, 2024.

    William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in 1984's 'The Karate Kid.'
    (L to R) William Zabka as Johnny Lawrence and Ralph Macchio as Daniel LaRusso in 1984’s ‘The Karate Kid.’
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  • Adam Scott Joins the Cast of ‘Madame Web’

    Adam Scott in “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.
    Adam Scott in “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

    There’s a new piece of casting for Sony’s ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off ‘Madame Web’, with ‘Severance’ star Adam Scott joining the cast.

    Naturally, this being a big superhero movie, Scott’s role is a mystery for now, but we could see him playing a loyal friend or some tech bro villain. He’s been solid in both types of roles in the past. The possibilities, though, are endless.

    Scott is the latest recruit for an ensemble that already includes Dakota Johnson (who has the lead role, and presumably plays a version of the title character), Emma Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Mike Epps, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim.

    SJ Clarkson, who has worked on shows including ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Succession’, is making her film directing debut here, with Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless writing from the script and replacing an earlier draft by Kerem Sanga.

    Originally created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

    madame web comics
    Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

    Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.

    It doesn’t exactly sound like the basis for a thrilling superhero outing, but Madame Web’s history has crossed path with various heroes. Plus, as you might expect from a comic book character, there has been more than one holder of the title.

    In Amazing Spider-Man #636, Madame Web transfers her powers into a younger woman, Julia Carpenter, who takes over the role and oversees storylines such as Spider-Island, which finds all of Manhattan’s population developing Spider powers. We don’t expect Peter Parker – played by Tom Holland or anyone else – to show up, despite the comic-book connection.

    Scott, who was previously more known for his comedy work in movies such as ‘Step Brothers’, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ and ‘Knocked Up’ alongside TV series including ‘Parks & Recreation’ and ‘The Good Place’ has also kept his hand in with drama on screens both big and small on movies including ‘Black Mass’ and ‘August’.

    With ‘Severance’, he’s enjoyed his biggest success to date, earning an Emmy nomination this week for his critically lauded role in the Ben Stiller-directed series. While ‘Madame Web’ would mark his first superhero genre movie, he’s no stranger to horror or sci-fi, having appeared in ‘Piranha 3D’, ‘Hellraiser: Bloodline’ and in a small role in ‘Star Trek: First Contact’.

    ‘Madame Web’ is in production now and will swing into theaters on July 7th next year.

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  • Emma Roberts Joins ‘Madame Web’

    Emma Roberts attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California.
    Emma Roberts attends the 89th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 26, 2017 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images.

    As with much of Sony’s non-animated, non MCU-connected Spider-Man universe output, we’re still not sure what to expect from ‘Madame Web’. Aside from digging into the comic books to ferret out potential plot nuggets, and divine possible character choices, it’s a mystery. Especially since the studio has staunchly refused to release so much as a logline at this early stage.

    What we’ve had to go on so far is the casting, and the latest word has now made it into the world: Emma Roberts is joining the ensemble, according to Deadline.

    She joins a cast that already includes Dakota Johnson (who has the lead role, and presumably plays a version of the title character – more on that below), Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim. There are zero details on who anyone is playing just yet.

    SJ Clarkson, who has worked on shows including ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Succession’, is making her film directing debut here, with Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless writing from the script and replacing an earlier draft by Kerem Sanga.

    Originally created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

    Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.
    It doesn’t exactly sound like the basis for a thrilling superhero outing, but Madame Web’s history has crossed path with various heroes. Plus, as you might expect from a comic book character, there has been more than one holder of the title.

    madame web comics
    mo Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

    In Amazing Spider-Man #636, Madame Web transfers her powers into a younger woman, Julia Carpenter, who takes over the role and oversees storylines such as Spider-Island, which finds all of Manhattan’s population developing Spider powers.

    The younger character sounds like who Johnson will be playing, though of course at this stage it’s anyone’s guess what the movie team will pick and choose to use in the final story. What if, for example, that younger cast points to a variety of potential Madame Webs… or is it Madames Web? Probably not.

    This, of course, is the latest evolution on Sony’s plan to keep its live-action Spider-spin-offs growing. They’ve been a hit and miss affair so far: the ‘Venom’ movies overcame negative critical reactions to generate big box office (a third is in the early stages)meanwhile ‘Morbius’ has… not so much.

    Next up is ‘Kraven the Hunter’, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, a ‘Silk’ TV series, and likely much further down the line, a potential ‘Sinister Six’ team up of Spider-villains.

    For now, then, ‘Kraven’, ‘Madame Web’ and the next ‘Venom’ are carrying the hopes of Sony’s Spidey time.

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  • Sony Announces ‘El Muerto’ Spider-Man Movie

    Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio "Bad Bunny."
    Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio “Bad Bunny.” Photo courtesy of Facebook.

    Sony unsurprisingly went Spider-heavy in its presentation at this year’s CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, announcing one brand new project and offering updates on others.

    The biggest news was that Latin-Grammy winning and platinum-selling artist Bad Bunny – AKA Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – will be playing ‘Spider-Man’ character ‘El Muerto‘ in a new movie.

    El Muerto debuted in a 2006 issue of ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’, written by Peter David, and illustrated by Roger Cruz. The character, real name Juan Carlos, was a super powered wrestler who originally fought Spider-Man in a charity wrestling match where he nearly unmasked the hero before being stung by Spider-Man, with a paralyzing poison. After being saved from the hospital by the web-spinner when Muerto’s oppressor El Dorado came to claim the wrestler’s life, the two would team up to defeat Dorado.

    Whether that story will make it to screens remains to be seen – our guess would be more towards an origin story for El Muerto, and, given the recent run of Spider-adjacent films, it’s unlikely that the web-slinger will be present.

    Bunny apparently pursued the chance to play the character, and this would be the first leading Latino superhero in the Sony Marvel movie universe. It’s another step for the studio following its first leading female character thanks to Dakota Johnson in ‘Madame Web’.

    madame web comics
    Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

    The musician’s most recent role was in incoming action thriller ‘Bullet Train’ (more on that below), and Sony has apparently been impressed by his performance there, moving quickly to put ‘El Muerto’ into motion to accommodate his musical and promotional schedule.

    In other tangential Spider-talk, Sony is planning more ‘Venom’ chaos, with a third film announced to bring back Tom Hardy’s shmuck journo/alien symbiote double-act.

    On an entirely different arachnid front, ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ writer/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller showed up to screen 15 (unfinished) minutes of the ‘Spider-Verse’ sequel (which was recently pushed back to 2023).

    The first movie had 40 characters, and the sequel has 240. The first movie took place in one universe, and the sequel takes place in six universes (so far). They also mentioned that the second ‘Spider-Verse’ sequel is now known as ‘Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse’, itself due in 2024.

    It wasn’t all Spider-news, though, as the studio recruited director David Leitch to show off the first reel of Brad Pitt-starring assassin thriller ‘Bullet Train’, which features Leitch’s trademark frenetic action mixed with a darkly comic side.

    Brad Pitt dirty shirt
    Brad Pitt in Sony Pictures’ ‘Bullet Train.’

    Viola Davis took the stage to show the trailer for her new movie, ‘The Woman King’, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The movie, written by the director and Dana Stevens, is an historical epic inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.

    The story follows Nanisca (Davis), general of the all-female military unit, and Nawi (‘The Underground Railroad’s Thuso Mbedu), an ambitious recruit, who together fought enemies who violated their honor, enslaved their people and threatened to destroy everything they’ve lived for.

    The likes of Lashana Lynch and John Boyega are in the cast for the movie, which will be out in the fall.

    And, finally, a closing sizzle reel included mention of a new ‘Ghostbusters’ movie to follow Jason Reitman’s successful ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’.

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  • Denzel Washington Back for ‘The Equalizer 3’

    Denzel Washington
    Denzel Washington in Sony Pictures’ ‘The Equalizer.’

    It has been nearly four years since Denzel Washington last dished out crusading, rough justice to baddies in ‘The Equalizer 2’. Since then, he’s been busy on other fronts, including producing ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’, directing ‘A Journal for Jordan’ and appearing in ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, and ‘The Little Things’.

    Yet following talk back in January that Sony was putting the pieces – including Washington and director Antoine Fuqua – back together for a third ‘Equalizer’ outing, we have confirmation that the plan is for them to return, since the studio handed out a release date.

    “They have written the third ‘Equalizer’, so I’m scheduled to do that, Washington told Collider back then. “So I gotta get in shape and start beating people up again. I get to beat people up again. ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’ and then going and beating some people up. Can’t get any better, right?”

    For those who might have forgotten, the ‘Equalizer’ movies are a reboot of the classic 80s television series of the same name created by Richard Lindheim and Michael Sloan. The series followed Edward Woodward as Robert McCall, a retired intelligence agent who becomes a private detective.

    The first film, from 2014, saw Washington starring as McCall alongside Marton Csokas, Chloë Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Melissa Leo, and Bill Pullman as he faced off against the Russian Mafia to protect a young girl. The 2018 sequel has Washington, Leo, and Pullman all returning, joined by Pedro Pascal, Ashton Sanders, and Orson Bean as Washington’s McCall sets out on a mission of revenge when one of his friends is murdered.

    Details about the third movie have yet to be revealed, but you can reliably expect that Washington’s Robert McCall will bring his smarts and creative weapons skills to another tough mission battling criminals.

    Sony is looking to release the new movie on September 1st, 2023.

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    The news comes amidst the studio reorganizing its release slate, including the disappointing announcement that ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ sequel ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ is being pushed back from a planned 2022 date into next year.

    This latest outing for Miles Morales and co., which has dropped the “Part One” from its title, will now bow in theaters on June 2, 2023. And the third movie in the series is also on the move: ‘Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse Part II’ is due on March 29th, 2024.

    Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson are co-directing the movies from a screenplay by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and David Callaham.

    That wasn’t the only Spider-news to hit from Sony – the company has also handed out a July 7, 2023 spot to ‘Madame Web’, which stars Dakota Johnson as the title character, a clairvoyant with abilities to see into the spider world. Sydney Sweeney also stars, while S.J. Clarkson will direct a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless.

    With ‘Across: The Spider-Verse’ vacating its original October 7 release date this year, that has left room for Sony to put live-action/CGI musical adaptation of children’s book series ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ in its place. Shawn Mendes voices the eponymous singing crocodile, while Will Speck and Josh Gordon direct and produce.

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  • ‘Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney Joins ‘Madame Web’

    Sydney Sweeney
    Sydney Sweeney in HBO Max’s ‘Euphoria.’

    Sony is moving forward with its Spider-Man-associated movie universe and has added a new cast member to one of the more intriguing titles it has bubbling away. Sydney Sweeney, one of the stars of ‘Euphoria’, is joining ‘Madame Web’.

    While Deadline’s report doesn’t specify who Sweeney will be playing, we do know she’s joining Dakota Johnson in the movie.

    Johnson, who has been seen recently in the Oscar nominated ‘The Lost Daughter’ and indie movies ‘Am I OK?’ and ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’, is playing the title character, or at least a version of her.

    Originally created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

    Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.

    It doesn’t exactly sound like the basis for a thrilling superhero outing, but Madame Web’s history has crossed path with various heroes. Plus, as you might expect from a comic book character, there has been more than one holder of the title.

    madame web comics
    Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

    In Amazing Spider-Man #636, Madame Web transfers her powers into a younger woman, Julia Carpenter, who takes over the role and oversees storylines such as Spider-Island, which finds all of Manhattan’s population developing Spider powers.

    With Johnson’s casting, we’d imagine she’ll play someone closer to the Carpenter character, though there’s plenty of scope for a very different sort of comic book adaptation. And Madame Web has always been tied to multiverse stories, so given the current cinematic fascination with that subject, it’s not far-fetched to think that that could factor in.

    Whatever it turns out to be, handling the job of making the movie is ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Succession’ director S.J. Clarkson, who would make her film directing debut here.

    The script comes from Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who worked from an earlier draft by Kerem Sanga.

    Sweeney has been having quite the career moment right now – she has been a standout on ‘Euphoria’ a series that is not short of memorable performances and scenes, and her role on Mike White’s ‘The White Lotus’ also saw her win acclaim.

    She’s appeared in lead roles in ‘The Voyeurs’ and vampire tale ‘Night Teeth’ and is currently shooting crime drama ‘National Anthem’. Though Sweeney has been acting for more than a decade, ‘Euphoria’ has opened a lot of doors for her, and she was considering several offers alongside the ‘Madame Web’ role.

    ‘Madame Web’ has yet to confirm a release date, but the next Sony Marvel movie to arrive in theaters will be vampire adventure ‘Morbius’, starring Jared Leto sinking its fangs into screens on April 1st.

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  • Dakota Johnson in Talks for ‘Madame Web’

    Dakota Johnson at the premiere of 'Fifty Shades of Grey'
    Dakota Johnson at the premiere of ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’

    Having won plenty of acclaim (and some awards nominations) for her role in Netflix’s ‘The Lost Daughter’, Dakota Johnson is looking to become a superhero in a future movie. She’s now in talks to star in Sony’s ‘Madame Web’.

    The movie, which is part of the studio’s interconnected Marvel Spider-Man universe (not to be confused with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with which it links from time to time), has been in development for a while.

    S.J. Clarkson, who has Marvel form with Netflix’s ‘The Defenders’ shows and has worked on shows including ‘Succession’ and ‘Made for Love’, is aiming to make her movie directorial debut. The script comes from Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the ‘Dracula Untold’ and ‘The Last Witch Hunter’ writers who have fellow Spider-adjacent movie ‘Morbius’ due in theaters on April 1.

    Madame Web as a Marvel Comics character was created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., first appearing in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

    Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has precognitive abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.

    Tom Holland in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming'
    Tom Holland in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’

    She doesn’t sound like the basis for a compelling dynamic superhero movie… But wait! There’s more. As is so often the case with Marvel, there has been another version.

    When Webb died, she passed her powers on to Julia Carpenter, who was the second incarnation of Spider-Woman and similarly became the second version of Madame Web. It’s unclear which version the film will focus on, but given Johnson’s age in relation to both characters, you figure she’ll play Carpenter. Or both if they slap aging make-up on her initially.

    Sony originally announced the movie back in 2019, and it has moved through the tricky development process more smoothly (aside from obvious pandemic delays) than some of the company’s other planned Spider-projects. Aside from the successful ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ movie, which has spun-off two sequels (the first, ‘Across the Spider-Verse Part One’ is due out October 7, the second in 2023) and both ‘Venom’ films, Sony has had mixed fortunes with its Marvel movies.

    The Jared Leto-starring ‘Morbius’ has been delayed several times, while others, including ‘Silver and Black’ which was to have featured Silver Sable and Black Cat, are stuck at the script stage. Still, Sony has Olivia Wilde working on an untitled movie, and projects based on Kraven the Hunter and Silk still moving forward.

    ‘Madame Web’ doesn’t yet have a release date, but it does at least seem like it’ll shoot this year.

    Though Sony had been looking at a long list of names, Johnson jumped to the head of the queue likely thanks to strong work in ‘Lost Daughter’ and other movies that have received praise at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, including ‘Cha Cha Real Smooth’ and ‘Am I OK?’. She will next be seen in Jane Austen adaptation ‘Persuasion’, which will be out this year.

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