Summary
-
Madame Web
is generating intense debate on social media due to bad reviews and unfavorable comparisons to previous Sony Spider-Man movies. - Actress Dakota Johnson has not seen the film yet and expressed she avoids watching her own movies as a way of self-care.
- Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained that
Madame Web
is not connected to the rest of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, allowing for a pure storytelling experience.
Madame Web, the latest film in the Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man universe, is in theaters now, but it seems that its main star is in no hurry to go see it.
The film, directed by S. J. Clarkson, is generating some intense debate on social media, especially due to the very bad reviews it is receiving from critics and audiences. Having been compared to Sony Pictures’ previous Spider-Man Universe dud Morbius, the outlook for the movie is not a favorable one, especially with the movie’s approval rating sinking below that of Jared Leto’s vampire yarn.
1/5
Release Date February 14, 2024
Runtime 1hr 57min
Studio Columbia Pictures, Marvel Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
Franchise Marvel
Despite the bad reviews, some people enjoyed Madame Web during its opening weekend, but Dakota Johnson was probably not one of them. Speaking with Magic Radio during the press tour prior to the debut of the film, the actress confessed that she hadn’t seen it yet, and seemed in no hurry to do so anytime soon:
I haven’t actually seen the movie. I normally go have dinner. I don’t know when I’ll see it. Someday.
But of course, this has nothing to do with Madame Web in particular, since from what the actress said in the interview, there are many of her films that she hasn’t enjoyed seeing, so it might be something she wants to avoid:
“Some of them. I don’t like them. For me, it’s a way to not have an existential crisis. For me, not watching my movies is self care.”
Why Is Madame Web Not Connected with the Rest of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe?
Sony Pictures Releasing
Madame Web is the fourth film, in addition to those starring Tom Holland, that Sony Pictures has released based on characters from the Spider-Man universe. The first was Venom, in 2018, followed by Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021 and Morbius in 2022. And, although the connections between all these titles and the Spider-Man movies are not yet totally clear, the stories of the character of Tom Hardy and Leto’s take place in the same universe.
However, Madame Web is not part of that same canon, even though that was the original intention. Speaking with Collider, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura explained why they are happy with this story taking place in its own universe:
“Before I was involved there was a script, and before S.J. was involved as well. Both of us really saw the advantage in not having the burden of the attachment of all this other stuff that has gone on. You’d be silly to think you don’t pay some homage to it and some acknowledgment, which we do, but it really freed us in a way to tell a pure story, I think. And so, for both of us, that allowed us to get into what I love about Dakota’s journey. It’s not just simply, ‘Well, I’m gonna stand up and become the hero.’ It’s, ‘I’m scarred. I don’t want attachment. I definitely don’t want responsibility for these three people. What the hell is happening to me? I’m going insane.’ And then, ‘What do I do now that I’m in this situation?’ So, for me, freeing ourselves from that obligation, in a sense, was very freeing and allowed us to do a more complex ride with the hero.”
Madame Web
is out now in cinemas.
You can view the original article HERE.
