Spider-Man Spinoff Madame Webb Movie Reportedly in the Works

Sony is wasting no time establishing its Spider-Man movie universe in light of the studios' recent split with Marvel. In addition to a Venom sequel and Morbius spinoff film, it's now been announced that Sony Pictures is developing yet another Spider-Man spinoff based on the character Madame Web. Collider reports the exclusive that Morbius writers Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless are the ones who have been tapped to scribe the Madam Web movie - though no choice of director has been revealed - nor are there any preliminary details about what kind of angle Sony is taking with this Madam Web movie project.

In the comics, Cassandra Webb is a mutant born in Salem, Oregon. She is afflicted with a neuromuscular disease that leaves her paralyzed and blind, but has the formidable psychic powers of telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition, allowing her insight into events well beyond the capability of her physical body. Madame Web gets her name from the web-like life-support machine she's hooked into, which looks like a giant spider's web.

Webb has other ties to the Spider-Man universe: she's the grandmother of Charlotte Witter, who became the villain version of Spider-Woman; she's also tied to Julia Carpenter, the second version of Spider-Woman that served on The Avengers. When Cassandra is mortally wounded, she transfers all of her psychic abilities to Julia, making the younger woman into the second Madame Web.

So as you can see, there is indeed enough Spider-Verse lore around to justify a Madame Web movie - especially if it involves a passing of the torch story between Cassandra and Julia. However, at the same time, Madame Web's lore would open the door to a lot of the more "out there" aspects of Spider-Man lore. That would include (first and foremost) the "Web of Life and Destiny", the nexus of the Marvel multiverse first spun into creation by "The Great Weaver," a totemic spider deity. Basically, Madame Web is a conduit to this power source for all the Spider-themed characters in Marvel's universe, which means any movie explaining her powers would presumably tie back to mystical / metaphysical concept.

In that sense, Madame Web sounds more like something that would be more at home Sony Animation's Spider-Verse franchise than live-action. However, if Sony is truly serious about building an entire Spider-Man franchise that stands on its own, then establishing the lore of the Great Weaver and its web of realities would be pretty crucial.

Morbius will be in theaters on July 31st. Venom 2 hits theaters on October 2, 2020.