Cameras are now rolling on Sony Pictures' Madame Web in Boston, and a brief video from the set might just give us a pretty good idea of who Dakota Johnson is actually playing in the movie.
Up until now, it was assumed that Johnson had been cast as Casandra Webb, but the distinctive red jacket the Fifty Shades of Grey actress is wearing here would suggest that she's actually playing the second Madame Web, Julia Carpenter.
In the comics, Carpenter inherited Webb's precognitive abilities - and her blindness - when the latter was killed by Sarah and Ana Kravinoff. Of course, Julia had been an established superhero in her own right prior to this, operating under the mantles of Spider-Woman and Arachne at various points.
We're not sure if this take on the character will follow-suit, but if Johnson is indeed playing Carpenter, it gives the studio plenty of options moving forward, and may support the rumor that this project is actually being developed as a team-up film with the titular hero sharing the spotlight with a number of other female characters.
Whatever the case may be, there doesn't seem to be much anticipation for Madame Web among comic book fans, but the movie has assembled a very impressive cast. Emma Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced, Adam Scott and Celeste O'Connor all have supporting roles, and there's a lot of speculation that at least some them will be playing heroes/villains from the comics.
S.J. Clarkson (The Defenders) is directing from a screenplay by Morbius scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The movie was recently pushed back by almost three months from July 7 to October 6, 2023.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.