Madame Web’s Tahar Rahim Turned to Comics in Preparation for Ezekiel Sims Role

Madame Web is officially out into the world, and Sony’s latest Spider-Man spinoff has left viewers with a lot to talk about. In addition to providing the live-action debuts for several of Marvel Comics’ Spider-Women, the film also introduces general audience to Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who serves as the story’s antagonist. In an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com, Rahim spoke about tying the specific comic lore of Ezekiel Simms into his live-action portrayal in Madame Web.

“We shot different things and I don’t think we’ll have more to show than what it’s in the movie,” Rahim explained in our interview, which you can check out above. “But what I did is, I went back to the comic books and I tried to put in as much of him from the comic books as I could to create a connection. I told myself: What is his back story in this movie, specifically, for me? It’s just a young boy who was abandoned, mistreated and had to experience every bad thing that the world has to offer, and eventually turned him into a selfish man who wants power for himself.”

Who Is Marvel’s Ezekiel Sims?

Created by J. Michael Straczynski and John Romita Jr. in 2001’s The Amazing Spider-Man #30, Ezekiel is a wealthy man who gained superpowers through the Spider-Totem. Over the years, he teamed up with Spider-Man on a number of occasions, especially where the supernatural aspects of their mythos was concerned. 

Ezekiel also plays a key role in the origin of Cindy Moon / Silk, as he gets approval from her parents to lock her away in a secret bunker once she develops powers. Spider-Man eventually discovers this detail and helps free Cindy, which kicks off her time as a superhero. 

What Is Madame Web About?

In Madame Web, Cassandra “Cassie” Webb (Dakota Johnson) is forced to confront her past while trying to survive with three young women with powerful futures who are being hunted by a deadly adversary. In addition to Johnson, Madame Web will also star Sydney Sweeney as Julia Cornwall / Spider-Woman, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon / Spider-Woman, and Celeste O’Connor as Mattie Franklin / Spider-Woman. The film will also star Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel Sims, with Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, and Zosia Mamet cast in currently-unknown roles.

“It’s really the story of Madame Web,” producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura previously told ComicBook.com. “So, in that respect, if you’re a Spider-Man fan, you’re gonna love the character because you know it from the comic books, which she doesn’t really have that big a character in the comic books, we’re doing the origin story of Madame Web. And so you meet her before she’s actually the person that you know in the comic book and you come to understand how she becomes that person. So, I think that’ll be a really fresh new terrain for the fans.”

What did you think of Madame Web? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Madame Web is now playing exclusively in theaters.