Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Madame Web

  • ‘Madame Web’: First Reactions to Sony’s Latest Debacle Hit Social Media

    ‘Madame Web’: First Reactions to Sony’s Latest Debacle Hit Social Media

    Sony must be given credit. Though the studio behind two of the most well-received animated superhero films of all time (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) can’t seem to put together a solid live-action CBM, they truly embody the superhero spirit by never giving up. The studio’s latest effort, Madame Web, hits theaters on Valentine’s Day and was screened for critics ahead of time…and it sounds as though it turned out exactly like everyone thought it would.

    “The Worst Comic Book Movie I Have Ever Seen”

    With Green Lantern, 2015’s Fant4stic Four and Sony’s own Morbius to compete with, being the worst CBM ever is tall order to be sure, but at least one critic thinks Madame Web may have taken the top spot. Critic Cris Parker called Sony’s latest installment in whatever it is they’re calling their efforts “an embarrassing mess” with a “laughable structure.” Given the current culture of social media, that means in about 6 months people will be talking about how it’s one of their favorite films.

    “A Scattered Story That Leads Nowhere”

    Heroes Unbound found Madame Web’s plot to be “lackluster” and while they indicated it did contain “charming performances”, they ultimately labeled it as nothing more than “a passable movie.” And that’s the nicest thing anyone is saying about it so far.

    “Just Kinda There”

    With a cast that included Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney, Sony certainly continued its trend of casting attention-grabbing stars. With that in mind, you’d hope they’d eventually put together a film that grabbed attention in a positive way. Instead, Madame Web is “totally fine” and “just kinda there” according to James Preston Poole.

    “It Was Bad”

    Brandon Schultz was willing to give it a shot, bless his heart, but in the end…”it was bad.”

    https://twitter.com/bneilschultz/status/1757294083096089020?s=20

    The good news is that as we all know, the early reviews are always the best ones as they’re done by critics who are clearly paid by the studios to get the film some good press (at least that’s what I always read on X), so don’t let these early reviews stop you from seeing Madame Web in theaters! And, don’t forget that Sony’s Kraven the Hunter will also hit theaters later this year!

  • How Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ Connects to the MCU

    How Sony’s ‘Madame Web’ Connects to the MCU

    It doesn’t.

  • ‘Madame Web’ Director Reveals the Film’s Connection to Sony’s Other Spidey Universe Projects

    ‘Madame Web’ Director Reveals the Film’s Connection to Sony’s Other Spidey Universe Projects

    Sony’s latest entry in their Spider-Man Universe, Madame Web, hits theaters on February 14th and marketing for the film is starting to pick up. The project has been at the center of some seriously intriguing rumors over the last year, with some rumblings that the film would be revealed to be set in either Andrew Garfield‘s Amazing Spider-Man universe or, even spicier, Tom Holland‘s MCU Spider-Man’s timeline. In an interview with EW, director SJ Clarkson shed some light on what’s really happening in the film.

    Set in 2003, Madame Web, as it turns out, is a standalone story that sounds like it takes place in neither of the aforementioned universes. “She’s definitely in a standalone world,” Clarkson said of the film’s main character, Cassandra Webb. “I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else. That was a gift, in a way, to be able to take something and bring a fresh and I hope original take to it.“

    Isabela Merced, Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, and Celeste O’Connor in ‘Madame Web’. SONY PICTURES

    Photos from the set of Madame Web showed Emma Roberts’ Mary Parker–Peter’s mother–is pregnant during the film. Rumors about the film’s plot have indicated that the villain, Ezekiel Sims, is looking to prevent the birth of Peter Parker. If all that is to be believed and we take the established timelines from the Garfield and Holland films to be true, then the 2003 setting would certainly eliminate any possibility that Madame Web is set in either of their universes. Of course, we could always just take Clarkson at her word!

    Madame Web hits theaters on February 14th!

    Source: EW

  • Sony Pushes Back its Fall Slate Instead of Paying Writers and Actors Fairly

    Sony Pushes Back its Fall Slate Instead of Paying Writers and Actors Fairly

    It seems like Sony is the first to cave. Hollywood is currently going through one of its most significant strikes as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have decided to strike as no fair deal was made by any of the studios to make their life actually livable. Now, the trend continues as instead of coming back to the table to discuss the industry’s future, it seems Sony has decided to push back the major releases of their fall schedule.

    The big push comes with Kraven the Hunter, which has now shifted to a release on August 30th of 2024, which was initially set to release this October. It seems they were mostly banking on Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s press tour to push the film; uncertain if that would actually help their next Spider-Man spinoff without the webhead’s involvement. Surprisingly, Madame Web is getting released two days earlier on Valentine’s Day of 2024.

    That’s not all, as the Ghostbusters: Afterlife sequel has also been pushed further back to March 29th of 2024. It initially was going to have a Christmas release and had the lesser push even with the hope to wait it out until Paul Rudd is able to promote the project once the strike ends. They also postponed the Karate Kid reboot that was going to release in June next year to a December release.

    There are also some films that have now ended up in limbo. Blumhouse’s They Listen lost its August release date from next year. Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse has lost its March release, which was hinted at when reports pointed to a troubled production (even if the released film is quite a visual feast). Though, they surprisingly gave Venom 3 a release date, as it stopped production during the strike, as the film is slated for July 12th while Bad Boys 4 will release on June 14th. Gran Turismo is still set for its August release.

    Source: Variety

  • Further Evidence Emerges Confirming Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Madame Web’ Role

    Further Evidence Emerges Confirming Sydney Sweeney’s ‘Madame Web’ Role

    Despite rolling out one of the most poorly received and mocked superhero films in the Golden Age of the genre in Morbius, Sony Pictures is still wheeling and dealing in the business of making films about obscure Spider-Man characters. Kraven the Conservationist is up next for the studio this October and then, just a few short months later in February 2024, Madame Web will arrive in theaters. Despite being littered with characters most fans have never heard about, Madame Web has an impressive cast led by Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott and Emma Roberts and is rumored to tell a pretty wild story taking place somewhere in the Spider-Verse.

    Set photos from the film had some fans crossing wires on who was playing whom until a report last Summer seemed to straighten all that out: Johnson is portraying the titular Madame Web and Sweeney is playing Julia Carpenter, aka Spider-Woman #2 (Jessica Drew, who as far as we know is not in this movie is Spider-Woman #1; however, there is another Spider-Woman in this movie, Mattie Franklin, and she is Spider-Woman #4!). Now a new report from a popular YouTuber seems to back up that info.

    The Hot Mic Podcast shared some information about Sony’s Spidey projects, including an unconfirmed bit of info that a Spider-Woman film may go into production in 2024–though it’s unclear which of the three Spider-Women it may follow–and info on Sweeney’s role. Simply put, the host of the HMP shared that he’d heard Sweeney is in fact portraying Spider-Woman in Madame Web. Of course, in the comics, this Spider-Woman, Julia Carpenter/Spider-Woman #2, also goes on to become Madame Web and comes into conflict with Charlotte Wittier, Spider-Woman #3. Given Sony’s love of nonsensical stories, it’s easy to see why they’ve chosen to go the route they have with Madame Web.

    Source: YouTube

  • Latest ‘Madame Web’ Set Photos Offer Best Look Yet at Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Conner

    Latest ‘Madame Web’ Set Photos Offer Best Look Yet at Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Conner

    We’ve gotten quite a few set photos from the sets of Madame Web but the latest batch might be our best looks yet. As shared by @DakotaJBRA on Twitter, more photos offer a clear look at the film’s main cast. We get a good look at Dakota Johnson‘s comic-inspired outfit as the leading lady herself while being joined by Sydney Sweeney and Celeste O’Connor, whose roles still haven’t been confirmed as of yet.

    We still know very little about the project,t but the set photos have teased that Madame Web is likely visiting Spider-Man’s home turf of New York City quite a bit. Of course, there’s the question of who might be their version of the character. Set photos that recently surfaced seemingly hinted at the adaptation of the character that may have a big role in the story, but there never was an official casting for a “Spider-Man” in the spinoff.

    Whatever they may be doing with this project, it could become their most unique take on a Spider-Man spinoff. Morbius didn’t quite pull in audiences as they hoped but perhaps a project that focuses primarily on the mythology based around the webhead could be something people would flock to theaters for. Here’s hoping that first trailer might be able to grab our attention and showcase what Sony has in store for us with this project.

    Source: Twitter

  • New ‘Madame Web’ Set Video Teases Fight With a New Spider-Man

    New ‘Madame Web’ Set Video Teases Fight With a New Spider-Man

    The star-studded and again-delayed Madame Web has not had a particularly secretive production. Recently, a batch of set photos allegedly show Tahar Rahim’s stunt double going up against Dakota Johnson’s and Celeste O’Connor’s characters. The photos clearly show Rahim’s stunt double dressed in what appears to be an alternate Spider-Man suit.

    Now, there is a new video of what appears to be O’Connor’s stunt double filming what could be the same or similarly-set scene. The double appears to be harnessed up to apparently “fight a new Spider-Man.” As previously noted, the “new Spider-Man” that appeared in previous photos may be Ezekiel Sims, a character who, in the comics, had similar powers to Spider-Man, wore a Spidey suit (that looked significantly different than the one seen on set), and occasionally clashed with other Spider-related people. Whether Rahim is Sims or not is yet to be seen.

    There may be a possibility that yet another “new Spider-Man” is off-screen in the leaked set video. Not a lot is known about Madame Web, but many rumors and theories point to a multiversal connection. That is not too surprising given the titular character’s connection in the comics, and Sony’s attempts to get audiences excited about its own universe of specifically Spider-Man-related characters apart from the much more popular Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although the 2018 animated film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse probably already did it better, Sony may be introducing a type of live-action Spider-Verse of its own. After the Spiderpeople crossover in the MCU’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, there is no ruling out that Sony’s characters may pop up at some point in Phases 5 or 6 of the MCU’s Multiverse Saga.

    Madame Web is scheduled to hit theaters on February 16, 2024.

    Source: YouTube

  • Leaked’Madame Web’ Set Photos Include Spoilery Action

    Leaked’Madame Web’ Set Photos Include Spoilery Action

    Almost unbelievably, Sony continues making movies with their roster of Spider-Man adjacent characters, including Madame Web, which is now in production. Set photos and rumors of a confirmed cast list have been making the rounds for a while now, but a new leak seems to contain some pretty hefty spoilers.

    A new group of set photos reportedly shows the stunt double for actor Tahar Rahim squaring off against Dakota Johnson and Celeste O’Connor’s character. The photos pretty clearly show Rahim’s stunt double wearing what can only be described as an alternate Spider-Man suit.

    The suit seems to lend credence to the rumor that Rahim is playing Ezekiel Sims, a character who, in the comics, had similar powers to Spider-Man, wore a Spidey suit (though it didn’t look like that one) and found himself sometimes at odds with other Spider-folk. Whether Rahim is Sims or not, I’m sure it’ll all much a whole lot of sense when Madame Web hits theaters next October.

  • New ‘Madame Web’ BTS Image Offer First Look at Crew Merch

    New ‘Madame Web’ BTS Image Offer First Look at Crew Merch

    While all eyes are on Marvel Studios, there are still quite a few projects over at Sony hoping to capture that same light. Morbius couldn’t quite keep the same momentum that Venom and its sequel did; leading to some uncertainty if they might shift their plans to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Still, they have projects in some form of production like Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web.

    The latter actually is currently filming and has many rumors surrounding what direction it might potentially take. While nothing has been confirmed, it definitely has a lot of hopes to tell a unique tale within the Spider-Verse but there has been a lack of updates. While nothing major, it seems that a new photo from Madame Web’s crew has found its way online featuring them wearing some crew merch with a new logo. The image has been shared by u/Parking-Balance111 on Reddit.

    The Madame Web crew and their hats from the movie MadameWeb
    byu/Parking-Balance111 inMarvelStudiosSpoilers

    It should be noted that crew merchandise isn’t something officially licensed by the studio. Commonly, it’s used as a thank you gift using elements from the Internet highlighting elements from the project. There’s some likelihood that this new logo is based on something someone found online. It’s unclear though if this is something used for the production crew while they are filming, or if it’s already a present as they slowly wrap up.

    Still, it’s great to see that filming is coming along. We’ll hopefully get some kind of hint at what exactly Sony is going for with Madame Web, especially with them giving a minor supporting character their entire film. It still feels uncertain what Sony is going for, as they still never confirmed which Spider-Man is part of their universe and what they hope to accomplish besides a potential Sinister Six team-up, as hinted in Morbius‘ post-credit sequence.

    Source: Reddit

  • Sony Delays ‘Madame Web’ and ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Release Dates

    Sony Delays ‘Madame Web’ and ‘Kraven the Hunter’ Release Dates

    It looks like we’ll have to wait just a little longer for the upcoming Marvel projects from Sony, as they have now pushed back quite a few releases. While they’ve also updated their upcoming schedule to include a new Karate Kid film, which we exclusively revealed just last month, and the sequel to Searching titled Missing (here’s hoping the third one is named Finding), it seems their various Marvel films have also been delayed.

    Kraven the Hunter is now eyeing a release on October 6th, 2023, quite a few months away from its initial January 13th release date that same year. It took over Madame Web‘s original release which is now scheduled for 2024 on February 16th. Both films are set to also screen in IMAX. The delay also affected one of its untitled Marvel films which were initially planned for June 7th, 2025 but it is now a July release. Some have theorized this might be the next Spider-Man MCU entry, but there hasn’t been an announcement so far.

    Sony is still moving forward with its projects even after Morbius didn’t quite make it the first two rounds it attempted in theaters. It’s uncertain how their relationship stands with Marvel and what the future has in store for Spider-Man. We haven’t heard anything about a new trilogy or even if the character will appear in Sony’s own universe. There are a lot of unknown variables at the moment and we can only hope that an update isn’t too far away.

    Source: Deadline