Madame Web Director Compares Movie To Marvel Favorite

Madame Web's director is comparing her film to a Marvel fan-favorite. In a recent interview with Total Film, S.J. Clarkson talked about the similarities between her approach with Madame Web and her previous Marvel visit In Jessica Jones. Yes, the filmmaker helmed a couple of episodes of the Netflix-era favorite. Just like Kristen Ritter's Jessica Jones, there's a grounded nature to Madame Web's setup. (Once the weird mind-melding powers get in there, maybe a little less so.) However, Dakota Johnson's hero is the same kind of "loner" character that Clarkson seems to enjoy exploring. That solitary nature is threatened when she's pulled into danger with some other Spider-Women.

"[They're both] a little bit abrasive, a bit quirky, and on the outer edges of things," Clarkson would mention. "With JJ, she had PTSD. That [sense of] reality to it was its success in a way. I suppose it's the same with Madame Web."

Madame Web's Unique Challenges

Dakota Johnson had her hands full making Madame Web. She recently told Entrtainment Weekly that the blue screen filming process threw her for a loop. In that kind of filming environment, Johnson really had to adjust her approach from making a normal movie. Clarkson was there to offer support, however making a big marvel movie is a bit of an adjustment for everyone involved. For example, how do you film an explosion and react to that blast when it really doesn't exist? Here's what Johnson had to say about making Madame Web.

"I've never really done a movie where you are on a blue screen, and there's fake explosions going off, and someone's going, 'Explosion!' and you act like there's an explosion," Johnson explained. "That to me was absolutely psychotic. I was like, 'I don't know if this is going to be good at all! I hope that I did an okay job!'" She would add, "But I trusted [Clarkson]. She works so hard, and she has not taken her eyes off this movie since we started."

Why Johnson Chose Madame Web?

Madame Web might seem like a weird choice for a full-feature movie. However, Sony is obviously banking on establishing a live-action Spider-Verse after the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. While that may be the studios' aim, Dakota Jonson was drawn more to the personal story at the heart of this film. Madame Web is a character who's history stretches out in weird ways across the Marvel universe. The actress sensed the untapped potential there.

"I have always really loved Marvel movies. Madame Web was very enticing to me. This movie is before she ends up in a wheelchair," Johnson said in a behind-the-scenes featurette for the movie. "She's hyper-intelligent and her greatest superpower is her mind. When Cassie begins to experience her clairvoyance, she thinks she is losing her mind. Madame Web is unlike any other superhero. When you think about how Spider-Man flies through the air, or Venom when he changes, it's so mythical to us."

What's Madame Web About?

Sony Pictures has a synopsis for the new Marvel movie: "'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." 

Do you miss Jessica Jones? Let us know down in the comments!