Sony Pictures decided to start the development of a spin-off entirely focused on Madame Web in 2019. They hired Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless to work on the script and SJ Clarkson to direct.
Despite being paralyzed and blind from a neuro-degenerative disease, Madame Web (real name Cassandra Webb) is closely associated with Spider-Man in comic books. Her extraordinary psychic, visionary, and clairvoyant abilities enable her to outperform his physical body and function as a bridge between life and death. She can transfer other individuals into her world using her skills, essentially uniting the Marvel Multiverse.
It was announced that Dakota Johnson would take the leading role alongside Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott, and Isabela Merced. The premiere of Madame Web was set for October 6, 2023.
Sony Pictures has postponed the release of the Madame Web.
According to Deadline, Sony has changed the calendar of movies over the next two years, moving Madame Web’s release date. The Dakota Johnson spin-off will air on February 16, 2024, instead of October 6, 2023.
It was also revealed that the project could significantly diverge from the source material due to the physical traits of the character and that the studio was open to making Madame Web the “Sony version” of Doctor Strange, a move that might have justified the inclusion of the Multiverse element in the movie.
