IN AN ERA of Marvel movie fatigue, Sony’s contributions to the superhero canon are an enjoyably silly change of pace. Relatively, refreshingly light on lore when compared to the convoluted, increasingly impenetrable Marvel Cinematic Universe, films like Morbius, Venom and now Madame Web give us lower-stakes adventures focusing on lesser-known characters from the Spider-Man comics.
Madame Web is arguably different, in that it ties much more directly into Spider-Man’s history. (Spoilers follow.)
When we meet Dakota Johnson’s Cassandra Web, she is an EMT in Queens in 2003, driving an ambulance with her friend and colleague Ben Parker (Adam Scott), whose sister is expecting a baby. If you’ve seen any of the many, many Spidey films released since the turn of the millennium, then you’ll easily clock this figure as Uncle Ben, a key character in the origin story of Peter Parker.
After an accident triggers Cassie’s latent ability to see the future, she embarks on a journey to save three girls with potential superpowers from a killer. These young women, played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor, all turn out to be destined to become future Spider-Women.
In other words, Madame Web is stuffed with entangled origin stories, and both the film’s ending and its tagline—”her web connects them all”—suggest that this is only the beginning of Cassie, Julia, Anya and Mattie’s adventures.
Will there be a Madame Web 2?
No sequel has been officially greenlit yet, although Dakota Johnson has stated in interviews that she would “definitely” return if she was asked back. However, the film has had something of a mixed reception, with critics panning its uneven tone and at-times bizarre acting choices, and some viewers loving it for all those things, as it hearkens back to the less self-serious comic book movies of the time period in which it is set. Still, reviews aside, if the box office figures say differently, a sequel is not out of the question.
Sony is continuing to build out its series of connected, Spider-Man adjacent movies, with Kraven the Hunter and a third Venom installment both scheduled to be released later this year. And Madame Web director S.J. Clarkson has hinted that the three young Spider-Women depicted in the movie will go on to have further on-screen adventures, although whether that is in a Madame Web 2 or their own spinoff movie remains unclear.
Philip Ellis
Philip Ellis is News Editor at Men’s Health, covering fitness, pop culture, sex and relationships, and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV, and he is the author of Love & Other Scams.
