Dakota Johnson has been gathering plenty of plaudits for her work in recent dramas The Lost Daughter and, thanks to their Sundance premieres, the upcoming Cha Cha Real Smooth and Am I OK?. She's now looking to get into some superhero action, entering talks to star in Madame Web.
SJ Clarkson is on to direct the movie, working from a script by Morbius duo Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. 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 precognitive abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.
Given Johnson's casting, you have to wonder what that will do to the character — will she play a younger version? Or perhaps a character slathered in age make-up? And surely they won't just have her confined to life-saving equipment in a bed? After all, this represents the first female lead for a Sony Spider-adjacent project.
In development for a while, this casting indicates that Madame Web should start shooting this year.