Over the course of the last 20 years, Sony have been involved in an unlucky 13 Marvel Comics adaptations, with Kraven the Hunter and Madame Web bringing it up to 15 between now and next summer.
However, the studio’s track record outside of the many Spider-Man movies and Tom Hardy’s two outings as Venom has been less-than-stellar to put it lightly. Sure, that only encapsulates Nicolas Cage’s Ghost Rider, sequel Spirit of Vengeance, and Jared Leto’s Morbius, but the latter two rank as a pair of the worst-reviewed Marvel blockbusters ever made.
Fans were skeptical about S.J. Clarkson’s upcoming Madame Web from the second they discovered Morbius scribes Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless were penning the script, but star Sydney Sweeney remains excited for her impending superhero debut. The Euphoria alum admitted that she “grew up watching Marvel movies and superheroes are just the coolest thing ever”, but that doesn’t mean folks are excited to see her live the dream.
Madame Web has assembled an intriguing cast, though, with Sweeney set to play second fiddle to lead Dakota Johnson, while Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim recently boarded the ensemble. Plot details and even character names remain largely under wraps, but with production expected to kick off next month ahead of a July 2023 release date, it shouldn’t be too long before some light is finally shed on a project that’s been generating an uneasy mix of enthusiasm and trepidation among the Marvel faithful.
We’re inclined to hold off judgement until we’ve seen the end product, but let’s hope we get something a lot more like Venom than Morbius.