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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe of movies began officially in 2008 with the premiere of ‘Iron Man,’ and the MCU has ruled the box office ever since.
But, before there was a shared Marvel universe, different studios released self-contained films based on the popular Marvel characters.
With ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘ currently in theaters, which introduces both the ‘X-Men’s Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and a new version of the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards (John Krasinski), we thought now would be a perfect time to countdown the 10 best pre-MCU movies of all time.
In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) sells his soul to Mephistopheles (Peter Fonda) and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson (Eva Mendes), the love of his life. Years later, Johnny’s path crosses again with Roxanne, now a go-getting reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny’s soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery ‘Ghost Rider’.
The Fantastic Four (Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis) return to the big screen as a new and all powerful enemy threatens the Earth. The seemingly unstoppable ‘Silver Surfer’ (voice of Laurence Fishburne), but all is not what it seems and there are old and new enemies that pose a greater threat than the intrepid superheroes realize.
When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle’s wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes ‘the Punisher’ (Thomas Jane), a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.
The Daywalker known as “Blade” (Wesley Snipes), a half-vampire, half-mortal man – becomes the protector of humanity against an underground army of vampires.
Two mutants, Rogue (Anna Paquin) and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.
After being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man.
A rare mutation has occurred within the vampire community – The Reaper. A vampire so consumed with an insatiable bloodlust that they prey on vampires as well as humans, transforming victims who are unlucky enough to survive into Reapers themselves. Blade (Wesley Snipes) is asked by the Vampire Nation for his help in preventing a nightmare plague that would wipe out both humans and vampires.
Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his team of genetically gifted superheroes face a rising tide of anti-mutant sentiment led by Col. William Stryker (Brian Cox). Storm (Halle Berry), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) must join their usual nemeses—Magneto (Ian McKellen) and Mystique (Rebecca Romijn)—to unhinge Stryker’s scheme to exterminate all mutants.
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is going through a major identity crisis. Burned out from being Spider-Man, he decides to shelve his superhero alter ego, which leaves the city suffering in the wake of carnage left by the evil Doc Ock (Alfred Molina). In the meantime, Parker still can’t act on his feelings for Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), a girl he’s loved since childhood. A certain anger begins to brew in his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco) as well…
Francis Ford Coppola‘s Oscar-winning classic ‘The Godfather‘ celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. That made us think, what other films are celebrating anniversaries this year?
In this 4-part series we will take a look at the best movies celebrating their 40th, 30th, 20th, and 10th anniversaries this year.
Next, we will countdown the best movies that released in 2002 and are celebrating their 20th anniversaries.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and set in 1863, Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to the Five Points of America to seek vengeance against the psychotic gangland kingpin, Bill the Butcher (Daniel Day-Lewis), who murdered his father (Liam Neeson) years earlier. With an eager pickpocket (Cameron Diaz) by his side and a whole new army, Vallon fights his way to seek vengeance on the Butcher and restore peace in the area.
Directed by David Fincher, trapped in their New York brownstone’s panic room, a hidden chamber built as a sanctuary in the event of break-ins, newly divorced Meg Altman (Jodie Foster) and her young daughter Sarah (Kristen Stewart) play a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with three intruders – Burnham (Forest Whitaker), Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) and Junior (Jared Leto)- during a brutal home invasion. But the room itself is the focal point because what the intruders really want is inside it.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, for Jimmy Smith, Jr. (Eminem), life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit’s vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice – and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.
Directed by Spike Jonze, Nicolas Cage is Charlie Kaufman, a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald (Cage).
While struggling to adapt “The Orchid Thief,” by Susan Orlean (Meryl Streep), Kaufman’s life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean’s book, become strangely intertwined as each one’s search for passion collides with the others’. Chris Cooper received an Academy Award for his performance as horticulturist John Laroche.
Directed by Spike Lee, in New York City in the days following the events of 9/11, Monty Brogan (Edward Norton) is a convicted drug dealer about to start a seven-year prison sentence, and his final hours of freedom are devoted to hanging out with his closest buddies (Philip Seymour Hoffman and Barry Pepper) and trying to prepare his girlfriend (Rosario Dawson) for his extended absence.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film follows the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio ) who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor.
Directed by Steven Spielberg, John Anderton (Tom Cruise) is a top ‘Precrime’ cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they’re committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator (Colin Farrell) targets him for a murder charge.
Directed by Sam Mendes, Mike Sullivan (Tom Hanks) works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney (Paul Newman). Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son (Tyler Hoechlin) is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him. Also starring Daniel Craig, Jude Law, and Jennifer Jason Leigh and Stanley Tucci.
Directed by Sam Raimi, after being bitten by a genetically altered spider at Oscorp, nerdy but endearing high school student Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) is endowed with amazing powers to become the superhero known as Spider-Man. The movie also stars Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, and J.K. Simmons.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa (‘Safe House’), the movie stars Jared Leto (‘House of Gucci’) as Dr. Michael Morbius, who suffers from a rare blood disease and experiments with a dangerous cure that afflicts him with a form of vampirism.
The result is a somewhat incoherent film that has no real purpose (other than to set up possible sequels) and feels like it was made in the 1990s. However, as a fan of Marvel, I did find some of the characters and stylized action sequences interesting, but ultimately, it was not enough to make me recommend this movie.
The film begins by introducing us to Dr. Michael Morbius (Leto), who suffers from a rare blood disease and is desperately seeking a cure, which he thinks he has found from studying bats. On the verge of finding a cure oversees, we flashback to Michael’s childhood growing up in a group home where he was raised by Nicholas Morbius (Harris), along with his surrogate brother Milo (Smith), who also suffers from a similar disease. Michael dedicates himself to his studies and vows to one day find a cure and save both himself and Milo.
We then cut back to present day where Morbius and his fiancée Dr. Martine Bancroft (Arjona) decide to experiment with what Michael thinks could be the cure. Michael takes it, but then begins to transform into a vampire. He is not vulnerable to light but does need blood to survive.
After several mysterious deaths where the victims have been drained of their blood, FBI agent Simon Stroud (Gibson) begins to suspect Morbius. Afraid of what he’s becoming, Michael refuses to share the “cure” with Milo, which the latter is not happy about. But, is Michael the real killer? Or is it someone else? Now, Morbius must discover the truth for himself, while protecting Martine and finding a way to stop himself from becoming a monster.
With nods in the film to several different Spider-Man movies from the past, fans weren’t sure what “universe” this movie was going to take place in. Without spoiling anything, I think I can safely say that ‘Morbius’ takes place in the ‘Venom’ universe, which actually makes a lot of sense. The film is aesthetically very similar to ‘Venom,’ and certainly shares the same DNA in addition to the same universe.
Like ‘Venom’ and its sequel, ‘Morbius’ seems like an older movie, something we would have seen in the late 90’s or when Sam Raimi was making his ‘Spider-Man’ movies. It’s rough, crude at times, and doesn’t fit into the slick and fun Marvel movies we expect in 2022, especially after the brilliant ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’
Although, there is a connection to the MCU in ‘Morbius,’ that is revealed by a not so secret cameo in the movie’s two end credit scenes. Without giving too much away, I will just say that the scene allows an MCU character to now exist in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. While the explanation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, even in a world of multiverses, I do appreciate the addition of this legendary actor and his strong character and look forward to whatever new Sinister Six iteration they are clearly planning.
Digging into the problems with the screenplay written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, the relationship between Michael and Milo, which is central to the film, needed to be explained better. Yes, they were surrogate brothers and best friends, but there seemed to be something else at the core of their relationship, whether intentional or not. Were they lovers? Is that why Milo seems so jealous of Michael and Martine’s relationship? There was definitely something there, but it never gets explored, which is disappointing. If that is the case, making that clearer would have brought higher stakes to all of Milo’s actions.
Also unclear is what happens to Adria Arjona’s character at the end. I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say “something” happens to Martine at the end of the movie that is never explained or visited again. I thought it was being left open for a twist in the final fight sequence, or possibly an end credit scene, but sadly it wasn’t and any questions you have about the character will have to wait for the inevitable sequel.
I also feel that the quick pacing and editing of the film was somewhat sloppy and led to the movie being incoherent. There were too many flashbacks that interrupted the main story and were ultimately only added for exposition and character set up.
But there are some elements of the film that I enjoyed. The superhero aspects of the story worked, even if Morbius was a villain and not a hero in the comics. Jared Leto gives a strong and dedicated performance as Michael Morbius, which is worth watching even if he plays him differently from the source material. Leto’s Morbius cares about human beings and refuses to take a life, which is in stark contrast to how the Spider-Man villain is normally depicted. Director Daniel Espinosa also chose some really cool effects to demonstrate Morbius’ vampire-like abilities.
In the end, Leto’s commanding performance, the character, and the superhero genre are not enough to save ‘Morbius’ from being a disappointing Marvel movie. With a weak script, bad dialogue, silly supporting characters, and lack of strong pacing and tone, ‘Morbius’ is a cinematic mess and the type of movie that only hardcore Marvel fans will understand and enjoy.
The movie stars Jared Leto (‘House of Gucci’) as Dr. Michael Morbius, who suffers from a rare blood disease and experiments with a dangerous cure that afflicts him with a form of vampirism.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jared Leto about his work on ‘Morbius.’
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You can read the full interview with Jared Leto below, or watch a video of our interviews with Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona and director Daniel Espinosa in the player above.
Moviefone: To begin with, how does it feel to know that you are the first actor to ever portray the character of Morbius in a live-action movie or television project?
Jared Leto: It’s pretty exciting and quite an honor, I have to say, to get asked to put this character on the big screen for the very first time. It’s harder and harder to find one of these classic characters that hasn’t been portrayed before, so I jumped at the chance. I also love the fact that there are three transformations that happen in the film, so it’s really kind of three characters in one.
MF: When you read the original source material, what was it about this character that made you want to make this film?
JL: What I really loved is the artwork. Really, it’s interesting because these characters get interpreted and reinterpreted by different artists and writers over the years. From the seventies, I really loved how fantastic it was and detailed. I loved that kind of classic battle between good and evil. There’s a Jekyll and Hyde element here, a man kind of fighting these primal instincts, and it was a lot of fun.
MF: Finally, how challenging, both physically and mentally, was this role for you to play?
JL: It was challenging. I love an immersive experience, and I like to work in a really intense, deep way. I find it to be really rewarding and exciting. In this film, we start off with Dr. Michael Morbius when he’s very sick, frail and fragile. I had a lot to learn there. I worked with people that have rare diseases. I worked with people that have challenges walking, and I was able to study and to learn so much from them. They were very generous with their time and energy.
In turn, I feel like it’s my job to pay tribute to that by working as hard as I can. Certainly, when I was playing that sick, frail doctor, who’s in search of this cure for this rare disease. I spent time on that set. I spent the days working on that and living in that space. It’s exciting. You learn a lot when you do that.
Ariana DeBose at the 5th Annual Hollywood Critics Association Awards.
As the studio continues to build the cast for its latest superhero – or in this case, super- antihero – movie, Sony has opted for a popular, award-winning performer to join the cast of ‘Kraven the Hunter.’ Ariana DeBose, who played Anita in Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’, has joined the movie as the character Calypso, according to Deadline.
J.C. Chandor is directing the film, which already has Aaron Taylor-Johnson starring as Sergei Kravinoff, AKA Kraven.
Just in case you’ve somehow forgotten, he’s a regular antagonist for Spider-Man, who in the pages of the comics, has encountered (and caused violent problems for) a number of heroes.
Kravinoff, created by Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, made his debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #15 in 1964. A maniacal big-game hunter, he made it his mission in life to prove his abilities by beating Spidey. But he’s also been portrayed as something of an antihero and has even fought alongside the web-crawler at times.
As for DeBose’s character, Calypso originated in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #209 in 1980, created by Denny O’Neil and Alan Weiss. She’s a voodoo priestess who has powerful mind control and potion-based magical powers. She’s most closely associated with Kraven and has been his romantic partner at times. But the relationship between the two has always been combustible.
Kraven the Hunter in the ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ animated series.
The new casting recruit joins the likes of Russell Crowe and ‘The White Lotus’ Fred Hechinger. While Crowe’s role remains a mystery, there has been talk of the film featuring Kraven’s family, so he may well be the character’s father. Hechinger, meanwhile, is playing Chameleon, a master of disguise who is also Kraven’s brother.
DeBose, a celebrated stage actor who has appeared in the likes of ‘Hamilton’ and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, has been winning plenty of plaudits for her performance in ‘West Side Story’, which is no small feat given that the role of Anita was originated on screen by Rita Moreno, who also appears in the new movie and won an Oscar for the 1961 version.
Thus far, DeBose has won both the SAG Award and the Golden Globe for her work, and she’s nominated for the BAFTA and Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She has Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller ‘Argylle’, starring Henry Cavill, on the way and will also be seen in sci-fi movie ‘I.S.S.’, set aboard the International Space Station. The story for that one feels a little too close to home right now, as war breaks out between Russia and the West and astronauts are ordered to take control of the station.
Chandor is working from a script by Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and Richard Wenk that has been in development for a while now but has taken a big leap forward. ‘Kraven the Hunter’ is currently taking aim at a January 13, 2023 release in theaters.
(L to R) Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire from ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ Photo Courtesy of Marvel Entertainment’s Instagram.
Even before ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ came out, one of the worst kept secrets in movies was the fact that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield would show up to share the screen with current Spider-Man Tom Holland. (Apologies if you were trying to keep spoiler free on the movie, but we’re afraid it’s well and truly out there).
After months of trying to stop the news from leaking pre-release, Sony and Marvel are taking a very different approach as they announce the movie’s planned home entertainment arrival. How so? The companies tweeted out a picture of Maguire, Garfield and Holland recreating one of the most famous memes to hit the web (pun unapologetically deployed) – Spider-Man pointing at Spider-Man.
Just in case you aren’t familiar with this particular meme, the image originates from Episode 19b of the 1967 ‘Spider-Man’ cartoon, titled ‘Double Identity.’ In the story, the villain Chameleon impersonates Spidey to pull off an art heist. He replicates all of the hero’s abilities in order to force a showdown and to try and trick the authorities into arresting everyone’s favorite web-slinger. Suffice to say, Spider-Man shows up and pointing/fighting ensues. Find the clip below…
The meme itself first debuted in 2011 and became increasingly popular as a way to indicate similar things (there’s an example here). It even inspired the end credits scene for ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’, in which Spider-Man 2099 (AKA Oscar Isaac’s Miguel O’Hara), who meets another Spider-Man and comedy arguments about pointing ensues. You can watch that here…
It’s fitting for ‘No Way Home’, which sees Holland’s Peter Parker reeling after his secret identity is revealed to the world by J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons) and he’s framed for the death of Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) in ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’. Seeking a way to solve the problem, he consults Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who suggests a spell to make everyone forget that Peter is Spidey.
Trouble is, Peter’s attempts to make sure his friends and family don’t also lose their memories of his true identity end up causing problems for the spell, tearing open access to the multiverse, and leading to the likes of Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Lizard (Rhys Ifans) and Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), who all appeared in different previous ‘Spider-Man’ movies.
It does, however, also let Holland’s Parker meet and team-up with Garfield and Maguire’s variants of the character, and there is much swapping of stories before they tackle the various villains.
This comes on the heels of word from Holland (while appearing on ‘Late Night with Seth Myers’) that one of the three Spider-Men wore a fake butt in their suit. “I’ll give you a spoiler, and I’m not going to tell you who, but one of us has a fake a– in their suit,” Holland said. “You can figure out that for yourselves.”
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ will be released on digital March 22, followed by a 4K Ultra HD, DVD and Blu-Ray disc release on April 12. Now we just have to wonder what other memes make it into release announcements. Probably this one.
Russell Crowe in ‘Gladiator’ (Photo by Karine Weinberger/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
Up until a few years ago, we’d have been more surprised to report that the Russell Crowe of today had signed up to co-star in a superhero movie. But following his work with Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel‘/’Justice League‘ films and having taken a role in the upcoming ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’, we’re not so shocked to learn that he’ll be part of the cast for Sony’s ‘Kraven the Hunter.’
This represents another attempt by the studio to expand its Spider-universe of movies, though a film focusing on Kraven has been in the works for a while now. ‘Triple Frontier’ and ‘A Most Violent Year’ director J.C. Chandor has been attached for a couple of years and in May of 2021, Aaron Taylor-Johnson stepped aboard to play the title character.
The character of Kraven the Hunter, born Sergei Kravinoff, is a big-game hunter who likes to take down his prey with his bare hands. Kraven meets a witch doctor who gives him a potion that enhances his senses and powers and slows down the aging process. To prove himself as the world’s greatest hunter, Kraven wants to take down Spider-Man.
First dreamt up by Spidey co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Kraven made his debut in the pages of 1964’s ‘The Amazing Spider-Man No. 15,’ and has made numerous appearances in Marvel Comics titles since then. His most famous storyline might be classic 1980s tale ‘Kraven’s Last Hunt,’ in which the villain succeeded in defeating Spider-Man, burying him alive, and assuming his identity.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson to play the popular Spider-Man villain in Sony’s ‘Kraven the Hunter’
The Hollywood Reporter’s story on Crowe’s casting makes no mention of whether Tom Holland’s Peter Parker might appear in the film, and for now, we can assume it’ll be focused on Kraven. The exact plot, written in different drafts by ‘Iron Man’ duo Art Marcum & Matt Holloway and ‘The Equalizer’s Richard Wenk, is being kept locked away for now, as is par for the course with movies like this.
And indeed, ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ was at one point potentially going to feature the character if the multiverse story hadn’t come together. Tom Holland told Collider last December that director Jon Watts had a taker on the idea. “For a long time, there was going to be a Kraven movie that was going to be the third movie because things weren’t working out and all sorts of different stuff. Jon pitched me this Kraven movie, which actually was really cool. I don’t want to talk about it in case that movie ends up happening down the line, but it was fun.”
Given that Kraven was hinted at among the shadows of characters glimpsed in the multiverse rift at the end of ‘No Way Home’, you know Sony is aiming to have the characters meet down the line. For now, we don’t know who Crowe will be playing, though several characters are reportedly members of Kraven’s family, and we can certainly see him as a tough dad.
Crowe, as mentioned, has ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ due in theaters on July 8 this year.
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‘Kraven the Hunter’ is currently targeting a January 13, 2023 release.
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’
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.
Francis Ford Coppola
