Is 2024 the year Sony’s Marvel movies overtake Marvel Studios? As it stands right now, there will be more Sony films in theaters, as Marvel only has Deadpool 3, while Sony has Kraven the Hunter in the summer and Madame Web arriving first in February. The question is whether a big star like Dakota Johnson can drive interest in such an obscure superhero character, without more popular heroes like Spider-Man or Venom?
As seen in the new trailer, Johnson plays Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who, after an accident, begins experiencing visions of the future. Johnson is joined by an exciting cast playing characters crucial to the Marvel comics. Sydney Sweeney is Julia Carpenter aka Spider-Woman, with Celeste O’Connor as the Mattie Franklin version of Spider-Woman, and Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon aka Araña. Tahar Rahim plays the apparent villain, Ezekiel, who is hunting the women in order to prevent some kind of terrible future from happening. Also in the cast are Adam Scott, Emma Roberts, Zosia Mamet, and Mike Epps.
This sorta looks like the Spider-Woman version of Terminator or Final Destination, which could be interesting under the guidance of director SJ Clarkson. It still seems to be trafficking in the multiverse/alternate future stuff that has bogged down Marvel movies for too long now, but at least it’s being done with more of a horror vibe.
Here’s the synopsis: “Meanwhile, in another universe…” In a switch from the typical genre, Madame Web tells the standalone origin story of one of Marvel publishing’s most enigmatic heroines. The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures…if they can all survive a deadly present.
Madame Web opens in theaters on February 16th 2024.