Sony’s Spider-Man Universe marches on. In January, cinematographer Duane Charles Manwiller revealed that filming on Madame Web, the universe’s sixth installment, had wrapped. Despite this, Sony has mostly kept details about the film secret, including the characters that some of its cast members will portray.
However, during a recent episode of The Hot Mic podcast, host Jeff Sneider revealed that Sydney Sweeney, one of the film’s cast members, will portray Julia Carpenter. Carpenter is the second woman to take on the mantle of Madame Web in the comics after the death of Cassandra Webb, the original Madame Web.
Also, Julia Carpenter is the second Spider-Woman after Jessica Drew. Apart from Madame Web and Spider-Woman, the film will also star other Spiderverse characters like Anya Corazon and Mattie Franklin.
If Sneider’s claim is accurate, Madame Web will be Carpenter’s live-action debut and the character's second theatrical appearance. The character will make its theatrical debut a few months before that in the forthcoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which will premiere this June.
Given that Sneider’s revelation doesn’t come from Sony Pictures, fans should take it with a grain of salt. Even though the industry veteran is most probably right, there is still a chance that he is wrong and this is all a misdirection by Sony.
While there is no information on the film’s plot, the official logline states that it "will be an origin story of the clairvoyant, whose psychic abilities allow her to see within the spider world." Madame Web is a lesser-known character, and fans will be glad to see Sony dig deeper into the lore well.
Apart from Sweeney, Madame Web will star Dakota Johnson as the titular character. It will also feature Celeste O’Connor as Franklin, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon, Adam Scott as Ben Parker, and Emma Roberts as Mary Parker. Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, and Zosia Mamet will star in undisclosed roles.
British television and film director S. J. Clarkson directed the film based on a screenplay by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, while Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Palak Patel, and Erik Howsam serve as producers.
Madame Web is not the only project that Sweeney and Sony Pictures are currently working on. According to a report last October, the studio has also cast the fast-rising star as the titular character in its remake of the 1968 science fiction cult classic Barbarella.
In other Spider-Woman-related news, Sony Pictures hired Olivia Wilde to direct a Jessica Drew-led Spider-Woman film. However, there has been little to no information about the film since reports emerged in 2020 and this has led many fans to wonder whether it will still happen.
Wilde didn’t help matters as she refused to confirm or deny her involvement with the superhero franchise, although she did express her admiration for its approach to film development. Rumors about the production still swirl.
Originally scheduled for release in 2023, Madame Web will now arrive in theaters on February 16, 2024. Before then, Spider-Man fans can look forward to Across the Spider-Verse which will debut on June 2.
