For example, the Dakota Johnson-led Madame Web is welcoming yet another marquee star in Emma Roberts in a still-undefined role. Deadline reports that Roberts is joining Johnson and Sydney Sweeney in a mostly-female cast that includes Celeste O’Connor, and Isabela Merced in the upcoming SSU film directed by S.J. Clarkson with a screenplay by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama. It’s certainly interesting that Sony is taking this route when it comes to the SSU. Perhaps it’s taking a page out of the Marvel Studios’ multi-billion-dollar book, which is why it has made the decision to feature characters from the SSU that only the hardcore fans will know. Then again, only Sony knows what its plans for the SSU are. The way that Madame Web has been used over the years is as a psychic medium that ties multiple Spider-Man stories together. Case in point, 2010’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions and its 2011 sequel, Spider-Man: Edge of Time. It’s worth noting that 2018’s award-winning animated film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, took inspiration from the aforementioned pair of games. Madame Web could follow suit. Of course, with its female-led cast, fans are hoping that it will bring a squad of female Spiderverse characters like Jessica Drew’s Spider-Woman, Gwen Stacy’s Ghost Spider, and Cindy Moon’s Silk, among others. Either way, audiences are equal parts optimistic and fearful for what Sony has planned for Madame Web as well as the SSU, in general. The good news is that the wait for Madame Web won’t be too long. Sony confirmed earlier this year that Madame Web will hit theaters on July 7, 2023, just a month after Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse hits the big screen on June 2, 2023.
