Madame Web Writers Tease What’s Next After Premiere (Exclusive)

Even though it has yet to be seen if Madame Web will receive a sequel, the writers behind the film are already thinking of ideas for a follow-up. According to Madame Web writer Matt Sazama, there may not be an origin story to how the other Spider-Women get their powers.

“There’s something to seeing characters that are already existing. We’ve already seen origin stories,” Sazama told us on the red carpet at the Madame Web premiere.

Madame Web producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told us in a different interview that the goal was to make the film Madame Web’s (Dakota Johnson) rather than an ensemble picture.

“We made a decision early on that the advantage in this story was not to attach it to all these other stories,” Bonaventura adds. “We tip the hat. But really, we wanted to concentrate on a character journey, and I think some of the superhero fatigue that people talk about is because those movies are often not about the central character.” 

“And so we felt it was a stronger choice for us to say, ‘This is Madame Web’s story,’” he continued. “She comes out of the Spider-Man comic books, but it’s not part of this other giant thing. It is its own standalone, which gave the freedom to really tell the character story.”

Judging by the early reviews, it may seem Madame Web has an uphill battle when it comes to sequels, with ComicBook.com’s Jenna Anderson giving the film a 2.5 out of 5-star rating. As of this writing, the picture has a 16-percent Rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“While Madame Web might not contain the heart-pumping tension, massive franchise connections, or painfully authentic verisimilitude of many of its modern contemporaries, it makes a convincing argument that an entertaining-enough story can still be found outside of those traits,” Anderson writes. “The charisma of its lead heroines and the specificity of its premise prevent it from being too boring, too goofy, or too irredeemable to ignore. For better or for worse, Madame Web further illustrates that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has potential when not trying to be a modern cinematic universe at all, and instead being a springboard for the most niche genre stories imaginable.”

Who Is in the cast of Madame Web?

In addition to Dakota Johnson, Madame Web also stars Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter / Spider-Woman, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon / Spider-Woman, and Celeste O’Connor as Mattie Franklin / Spider-Woman. Madame Web’s cast also includes Tahar Rahim as Ezekiel Sims, with Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, and Zosia Mamet in undisclosed roles.

Madame Web will be released in theaters on February 14th.