Yet another big-name star has crawled into the cast of Sony’s Madame Web movie. The lukewarm reception to the Venom films and the world’s most beloved flop that is Morbius hasn’t deterred the studio from its commitment to building up a universe of Spider-Man villain-centric productions, and the latest to be in the works is this female-fronted effort starring Dakota Johnson in the title role.
According to Deadline, joining Johnson in Madame Web will be Emma Roberts. The American Horror Story alum is the latest familiar face to board the project, following on from Euphoria‘s Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor (Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Isabela Merced (Sweet Girl), and The Serpent‘s Tahar Rahim — the only male actor confirmed to be involved to date.
As with everyone in the cast, Roberts’ role in proceedings has yet to be revealed as Sony declined to respond when Deadline reached out for a comment. There’s not much that’s actually been confirmed about Madame Web right now as we don’t even know how the eponymous Cassandra Webb will be reimagined for the screen.
In the comics, Cassandra is an elderly blind woman plugged into a life-support system resembling a giant web. On top of her clairvoyant abilities, the character also has strong ties to the Spider-Verse, so Sony might be hoping for Madame Web to serve as their answer to Marvel’s Doctor Strange 2. The second Madame Web, Julia Carpenter, will likely feature in the film somewhere, too. Fans suspect this is who Sweeney is playing.
This is Roberts’ first ever superhero movie, although she’s known to have been in the running for DC’s Harley Quinn before Margot Robbie claimed the gig. Roberts has recently expanded her purview to behind the camera as well as in front of it, having produced Netflix’s vampire series First Kill. She’ll next appear in indie drama Abandoned, which she likewise produced.
Madame Web swings into theaters in roughly a year’s time on July 7, 2023.