Daisy Ridley Wants to Play Spider-Woman in Sony-Marvel's Extended Spider-Man Universe
Daisy Ridley 'would love' to play Spider-Woman in the extended Spider-Man Universe, revealing that [...]
Daisy Ridley "would love" to play Spider-Woman in the extended Spider-Man Universe, revealing that she would "for sure" swing into another blockbuster franchise after Star Wars. After a February 2020 report that Sony Pictures was eyeing Breaking Bad director Michelle MacLaren for a Spider-Woman movie starring Tomb Raider's Alicia Vikander, Ridley emerged as a popular fan-cast to play spider-powered spy Jessica Drew. Later that year, Booksmart and Don't Worry Darling director Olivia Wilde confirmed reports she would direct a female-led Marvel movie after hinting at her involvement with Spider-Woman, expected to be part of the MCU-adjacent Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters.
Interviewed by USA Today bestselling author Sariah Wilson ahead of her new movie Chaos Walking, which Ridley leads with Spider-Man star Tom Holland, Ridley revealed she's unfamiliar with casting rumors but said she "would love to play Spider-Woman." After asking if Spider-Woman is part of "an extended Spider-Verse thing," Ridley said she would "for sure" join the budding universe already home to Tom Hardy's Venom and Jared Leto's Morbius.
Wilson adds Ridley is a self-professed fan of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Sony's Academy Award-winning animated film about Spider-people from across the Multiverse, and a fan of WandaVision, the first original series from Marvel Studios now airing on Disney+.
I told her about it possibly being a new Marvel Universe and asked if she'd do a franchise like that. She said, "Oh, yeah, for sure!" She talked about friends being involved with franchises and how much content there is these days with streaming services.
— Sariah Wilson (@sariahwilson) February 20, 2021
But she knew nothing about the Spider-Woman rumors. She seemed excited at the prospect, but I had to explain the whole thing to her. She hadn't heard of it at all.
— Sariah Wilson (@sariahwilson) February 20, 2021
After Sony and Disney partnered on a five-movie Spider-Man deal bringing Holland's rebooted Peter Parker into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, subsequently renewing that pact for the still-untitled Spider-Man 3 and an as-yet-revealed Marvel Studios movie, Wilde appeared to hint her rumored Spider-Woman movie would also connect to the MCU:
"All I can say is that this is by far the most exciting thing that's happened to me because not only do I get to tell a story that.... listen to me, trying to avoid Kevin Feige's pellet gun," Wilde told EW in September about the Marvel Studios head, the producer behind Avengers: Endgame and WandaVision. "We are seeing this incredible influx of female directors and storytellers getting to take hold of this genre, this superhero space, and infuse it with their own perspective."
On her secretive Sony-Marvel movie, Wilde added, "Not only do I get to the story as a director but I get to develop the story and that was what made it so incredible for me. I get to do it with... [Booksmart producer] Katie Silverman, who, she and I love to do all sorts of things together but our love started with Booksmart. To know that we went from telling a story about female friendship in high school to this other stratosphere now is just super exciting."
Ridley and Holland next star in Chaos Walking, out March 5 from Lionsgate. Holland returns as Spider-Man in Sony and Marvel's untitled Homecoming 3, swinging into theaters on December 17; Sony has not set a date for its rumored Spider-Woman spin-off.