Written By Kieran Bugg
Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web will bridge Sony’s Spider-Verse with the MCU. In other words, Marvel Studios won’t need Doctor Strange to cross over with Sony.
Many fans laughed when Sony announced a Madame Web film in September 2019.
After all, in the comics Madame Web was an old lady with mutant powers.
In other words, she was like a cross between Aunt May and Professor X.
LOL, Sony, LOL.
Indeed, it felt like a desperate move.
It seemed like Sony was digging through their IPs to find anything related to Spider-Man.
But that was then.
Following Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s billion-plus success, Sony is going all-in with Marvel Studios.
More team-ups are coming.
Beyond that, Sony is expanding their Spider-Verse.
Morbius hits theaters in April.
Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web Allows Sony’s Spider-Verse To Cross Over With MCU
Image: Marvel Comics Group
Furthermore, Sony has a Kraven the Hunter solo pic starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
There’s also Olivia Wilde’s Spider-Woman movie in pre-production.
Still, the real oddity is Madame Web.
Sony just cast Fifty Shades of Grey actress Dakota Johnson in the titular role.
So much for Madame Web being one of The Golden Girls.
Like Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May, Madame Web is sexy now.
Smart move.
With that being said, what there is to know about Madame Web?
What we can expect from her upcoming spin-off?
Madame Web is a mutant.
Well, Sony will have to change that.
Disney owns the mutants.
Image: Getty Images
In any case, her powers include telepathy, clairvoyance and precognition.
The comic books often depicted Madame Web as an elderly woman who has been blind her whole life.
She has myasthenia gravis.
In addition, she is kept alive only by her complex life support system which was built by her husband.
Ironically, it resembles a spider’s web.
Since Dakota Johnson is only 32-years-old, they could make this an origin story set before the character was confined to her life support.
Or the movie’s plot is based on the “Gathering of Five” storyline that restores her youth.
Writer Dennis O’Neil and and artist John Romita Jr. co-created Madame Web.
She debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man No. 210 in 1980.
Moreover, she is also a mentor to the third Spider-Woman, Mattie Franklin.
Not only that, but she’s the grandmother of the fourth Spider-Woman, Charlotte Witter.
Image: Marvel Comics Group
What a tangled web.
Most fans remember Madame Web for her recurring role in the 1994 Spider-Man animated series.
She served as a guiding hand of sorts to a reluctant Spider-Man.
S.J. Clarkson of Jessica Jones fame will direct Madame Web.
Morbius veterans Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless will write the story.
Madame Web has no release date yet.
But now that it’s found both its director and star Dakota Johnson, it won’t be long.
Ever since Sony dropped the news, Marvel fans have been left divided if a Madame Web film is even necessary.
Certainly, Dakota Johnson won’t be here just for eye candy.
Rather, she’s Sony’s Doctor Strange.
Sony seems confident with how the project is shaping up so far.
Related: Spider-Man Rights: Sony And Disney Strike Long-Term Deal
