Posted in: Movies, Sony | Tagged: dakota johnson, Madame Web, marvel, sj clarkson, sony

Madame Web: Dakota Johnson Was "Sort Of Mystified By Her Powers"

Madame Web star Dakota Johnson said she was nervous about joining the superhero genre but was "mystified by [Cassandra's] powers."

Madame Web continues to be one of the stranger big releases of early 2024. So far, all of the promotional material has been very strange and has been a low effort on the part of Sony. It's unclear what exactly they are trying to accomplish with this film or if they are confident it will find an audience. They did allow some outlets to interview the cast and crew, though, and one of those outlets is Entertainment Weekly. When Dakota Johnson was first cast, people reacted the same way people reacted to Robert Pattinson getting cast as Batman. Johnson is known for a specific series of movies geared toward women, not a critical darling, and tends to be a cultural punching bag for men. Johnson has been involved with plenty of great projects since and is part of the butterfly effect that took down Ellen DeGeneres. Johnson was also hesitant to join the superhero genre, but it was Cassandra's powers that really drew her to this film.

"I got sent this script, and I was like, 'I don't know about me being a superhero.'… I was sort of mystified by her powers," Johnson explained. "I felt like, 'Oh, I really would love to see that superhero. I would love to see a young woman whose superpower is her mind.'"

Director SJ Clarkson also found herself captivated by this powerset and getting the ability to take this character in a completely different direction from anything we have seen in the comics. "I really love the idea of somebody who can see into the future, but until they can really understand their past and appreciate where they are, they can't use that power," Clarkson explains. "Without wanting to overload it with profundity, I thought that's an amazing thing to explore: If we understand our past and see where we are in the present, we can then make better choices for the future."

This might be one of the biggest deviations from source material that we have seen in a long time. The Cassandra Webb we see in Marvel Comics looks nothing like this Cassandra, but it does sound like Clarkson was given a fair amount of creative freedom. Madame Web is being pitched as something we don't get to see as often these days and something we wouldn't expect from Sony, considering how many films they have coming out this year. Clarkson says the film is "definitely in a standalone world. I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else. That was a gift, in a way, to be able to take something and bring a fresh and, I hope, original take to it." So, while this might be the year of three Sony Marvel movies, it's unclear what universe this takes place in and if there is a familiar Peter Parker running around out there.

They are very specific about the film in 2003, and it's unclear whether there is a real story behind that choice. Madame Web has had a giant question mark hanging over it from the moment it was announced, and no one knows how this one will play out.

Madame Web: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

"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, directed by SJ Clarkson, stars Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, and Adam Scott. It will be released on February 14, 2024.

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