Sony’s Madame Web: A Potential Gamble in the Superhero Landscape

Sony is still building its own universe of Spider-Man characters, and while the success of the recent Spider-Man films and the near-universal acclaim for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: No Way Home suggest it is feasible, there are a lot of pitfalls to avoid. The primary stumbling block: the absence of a live-action Spider-Man, who is still on loan to Marvel Studios.

Nevertheless, Sony has been working toward this goal since before the release of Venom, and though the critical and commercial stumble of that film put things on pause, it will eventually be a reality thanks to nearly-finished projects like Morbius and Madame Web, the latter of which is currently scheduled to be the next expansion after Venom, the Spider-Verse pictures, and Kraven the Hunter. But is it a gamble? Madame Web may be familiar to a generation of fans who fondly remember the FOX animated series, but she’s something of a mystery to those who were not plopped in front of the TV weekday afternoons in the mid-to-late 1990s. Nevertheless, there may be something to her — and the characters entering her web — that may yet prove compelling.

Back in the Marvel Comics universe, Madame Web first appeared in 1980’s The Amazing Spider-Man #210. In its pages, Cassandra Webb proved to be a clairvoyant with remarkably accurate predictions for Peter Parker and an in-depth explanation for her life support apparatus, which resembled a spider’s web. As it happens, the older woman had myasthenia gravis — an autoimmune condition impacting nerve impulse reception in the muscles — and her late husband created a way to sustain her life. Meanwhile, her ability helps Spider-Man save the day, and she agrees to keep his dual identity a secret.

As is customary for Marvel characters, New York City is the film’s primary location, although the trailers suggest Cassandra — or Cassie — will venture out of the five boroughs as the plot demands.

Madame Web stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Cassie. As mentioned above, she is a paramedic with clairvoyant abilities, the source of which may be her mother’s research into obscure spider-related topics. Joining her on a path through the spider-world are Zoë Kravitz as Julia Carpenter, Jurnee Smollett as Mattie Franklin, and Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon. The three represent the future Cassie sees and a threat to Tom Holland’s Ezekiel Sims. Other cast members include Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christoph Waltz, Patrick Stewart, and Keanu Reeves. Although their roles have not been confirmed, reports suggest Ejiofor is Ben Parker, Peter’s uncle who famously instructed his nephew on what comes with great power. Similar reports cast Stewart as a pre-aunt May Parker. And considering Spider-Woman Charlotte Witter is unaccounted for, Merced’s role may be the most intriguing of all.