You don’t need a crystal ball to know the Spider-Verse is about to get even bigger. You just need an internet connection. Sony Pictures has released the first teaser trailer for Madame Web starring Dakota Johnson. The standalone film takes place in a new world within the franchise’s multiverse, but she’s not the only Spidey figure who lives there. Or, rather, will live there. Maybe. We know, it’s confusing, but that’s what happens when powerful beings are all fighting to control a future only they can see and change.
Surprise Adam Driver! We’re in. It doesn’t hurt the film also stars Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, and Emma Roberts. But what exactly is going on in this intense trailer? And why is someone who looks like Spider-Man hunting down three young women who seem destined to be webbed-slingers themselves? Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Sony:
“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.
Sony also shared a featurette with Johnson discussing the character.
This is a big spotlight for a comic book character who has never really had a chance to shine like this. So while Cassandra Webb is now part of the Spider-verse, it makes sense her story takes place in its own universe. The movie can focus on her story for now rather than how she fits into another Spider-Man’s reality.
Madame Web comes from director SJ Clarkson with a screenplay by Claire Parker and SJ Clarkson. It comes to theaters early next year, on February 14, 2024.