‘Madame Web’ To Be Set In 2003 & Is a Part of Its Own Universe

The idea of an expanded Sony’s Spider-Man universe began in 2013, with plans to launch spin-off films, including one centered on Venom, following ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2.’ However, due to the film’s disappointment, Sony abandoned these plans and collaborated with Marvel Studios in 2015, and since then, Spider-Man has been one of the main characters in MCU.

However, despite SSU movies generally receiving mixed to bad reviews (looking at your Morbius), the SSU continued and now has plenty of live-action and animated projects in development focusing both on Spider-Man’s supporting character and his villains. One of the movies that is set to be released in less than a month is ‘Madame Web’ starring Dakota Johnson in the role of titular Madame Web.

The film follows Cassie as she grapples with newly acquired powers and confronts a mysterious foe, Ezekiel Sims, portrayed by Tahar Rahim. Ezekiel is on a mission to prevent three young women, Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O’Connor), and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), from developing spider-related abilities. These characters are familiar to Spider-Man enthusiasts, as they all gain such powers in the comics. Cassie must join forces with the trio to protect them from Ezekiel’s pursuit.

While the general outline and the plot of the movie are known, the matter of continuity and when exactly the movie is set has been up for debate recently. Until Johnson’s and Clarkson’s interview with EW, during which some interesting things were revealed. First, ‘Madame Web’ takes place in 2003, and the movie will not be part of the larger SSU; instead, it will take place in its own standalone universe. The director explained that this offered much more freedom regarding where the character might be taken, and some constraints, such as keeping up with the continuity and the canonicity of the content, are irrelevant. You can tell the story however you want it.

She’s definitely in a standalone world,” Clarkson adds. “I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else. That was a gift, in a way, to be able to take something and bring a fresh and I hope original take to it.

How this will reflect on other upcoming projects, such as ‘Kraven the Hunter,’ we don’t know, but it puts a strange twist on rumors regarding SSU’s merger with the MCU that has been going around for quite some time now. What do you think?

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