The ever-growing world of Sony’s Spider-Man universe is continuing to make some surprising choices, as noteworthy actors are joining the cast of their upcoming live-action projects. That has been the case for the studio’s Madame Web movie, which was confirmed to be moving forward earlier this year with Dakota Johnson as the titular character. On Wednesday, it was announced that Euphoria and The White Lotus star Sydney Sweeney has joined the cast of Madame Web in a currently-unknown role.
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Since there’s no indication of what Sweeney’s co-starring role will be, that has led Marvel fans to kick off a flurry of speculation as to what character she could e playing. The options have ranged from pretty popular heroes within Sony’s universe to lesser-known antagonists. So, who exactly could Sweeney be playing in Madame Web? Here are a few possibilities.
Black Cat
One of the most popular possibilities for Sweeney’s role is Felicia Hardy / Black Cat, so much so that “Black Cat” began trending on Twitter after her casting was announced. The daughter of an infamous cat burglar who eventually follows in his footsteps, Felicia becomes a vigilante who is skilled in a number of fighting styles and can subconsciously create “bad luck” for her foes. These powers make her an ally, adversary, and love interest of Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, as well as a formidable costumed character in her own right.
The journey of Black Cat potentially heading to the big screen has been a long one, after Anne Hathaway was poised to play a Black Cat-esque daughter of The Vulture in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 4, and Felicity Jones portrayed a civilian version of Hardy in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Black Cat was also expected to be a fixture of Sony’s Silver and Black team-up film with Silver Sable, only for the project to be scrapped in favor of stil-stallled solo projects. While Black Cat would be somewhat of a peculiar antagonist for Johnson’s Madame Web, it certainly doesn’t seem out of the realm of possibility.
Silver Sable
Additionally, we need to address the possibility of Sweeney portraying the other half of Silver and Black — Silvija Sablinova / Silver Sable. Following the death of her father, Sable becomes the leader of the Wild Pack, a ragtag band of mercenaries that help or target various corners of the Spider-Man universe.
There certainly could be a story out of Madame Web (no matter which incarnation) going toe-to-toe with Sable and the Wild Pack, or Sable even being an ally of the new superhero. If Sable were to go on to star in her own long-gestating movie after the events of Madame Web, having Sweeney at the helm would definitely get fans invested as well.
Gwen Stacy
Another popular fancast that has surfaced online following Sweeney’s casting is Gwen Stacy — no matter which context. Initially portrayed as the love interest of Peter Parker, Gwen gained a whole new crop of fans as Spider-Gwen / Ghost Spider, the costumed hero of her own universe.
Considering the bare bones of the lore behind Madame Web, it would be interesting to see exactly how either a civilian or superhero version of Gwen would factor into it. Still, given the titular character’s multiverse-accessing powers, the idea of using the film to bring Spider-Gwen into live-action would definitely be a pleasant surprise.
Charlotte Witter
Stepping into a much more niche corner of Spider-Man lore, there’s Charlotte Witter, one of the few adversaries of both incarnations of Madame Web in the comics. The granddaughter of Cassandra Webb, the first character to hold the Madame Web mantle, Charlotte becomes an incarnation of Spider-Woman thanks to experimentations by Doctor Octopus, and is given the ability to take away people’s superpowers. This puts her into a direct conflict with Jessica Drew and Julia Carpenter, the latter of whom fans have speculated Johnson is playing in Madame Web.
If Madame Web wants to tell a straightforward origin story of its titular hero — while also directly confronting the legacy of its mantle — then Sweeney portraying Charlotte would be a compelling way to do that. She would also easily be one of the most visually-interesting antagonists the film could offer, especially if she keeps the giant spider arms she has in the comics.
Jackpot
This one feels like a bit of a Hail Mary suggestion, but with Sweeney recently dyeing her hair a shade of red, there’s enough there to speculate about. Since 2007, Marvel Comics have produced two incarnations of Jackpot — a scientist named Sara Ehret, and a young woman named Alana Jobson who literally bought the Jackpot secret identity when the former retired. Alana operated as Jackpot across several Marvel events before dying due to the side effects of blindness serum. Upon learning of Alana’s death, Sara decided to return to the mantle and get revenge, and eventually changed her name to Alana after she needed to go into hiding. (Comics are weird.)
With a Jackpot solo movie having been in the works at Sony since 2018, the idea of her onscreen debut possibly occurring in Madame Web doesn’t seem completely out of the question.
