Were Madame Web Actors Tricked Into Thinking They Joined The MCU?
There’s a high chance the stars of the anticlimactic movie were largely unaware of the true nature of the project they were signing up for, making this story uglier yet.
Summary:
- Immediately after its release, Sony’s Madame Web turned out to be a critical and commercial disaster.
- Madame Web actors tagged Marvel Studios after signing their contracts; and Dakota Johnson spoke to Elizabeth Olsen about the MCU.
- Soon after the first Madame Web trailer, Johnson fired her old agency, which implies she might have been told she would join the MCU.
Madame Web has only been out for two days, and it already looks like a complete disaster. Terrible scores, humiliating reviews, and catastrophically low box office results — you name it, this movie as it all. It got to the point where Jared Leto ’s Morbius looks like a genuine success next to Dakota Johnson’s newest outing.
But if we were to take a wild guess, we’d say neither Johnson nor other Madame Web stars were even aware of the mess they were getting into.
Madame Web Stars Thought They Joined The MCU
There are quite a few bits of evidence that all point in the same direction: the Madame Web cast might have been told they were joining the MCU, not the Sony continuity. Based on the lackluster movie’s stars’ Instagram stories where they all tagged Marvel Studios, none of the actors were aware of what they signed up for.
Dakota Johnson, the lead star of Madame Web, also hinted at that in several interviews: on many occasions, she shared the story about her talking to Elizabeth Olsen about the MCU experience to make an informed decision.
Soon after the first Madame Web trailer was released and the reality became obvious, Dakota Johnson fired her agents and signed with another agency, CAA — seemingly, because she didn’t find her previous reps’ work… Unprofessional.
Johnson Could’ve Been Promised A Spider-Man Prequel
While this information was never explicitly confirmed, one rumor could perfectly explain the “misunderstanding” that may or may not have happened between Sony and the Madame Web cast. According to it, the initial plot of the movie revolved around protecting Peter Parker’s mother so that she could give birth to Spider-Man.
Such a plot would have allowed Sony to present the movie as a “direct prequel” to Tom Holland ’s Spider-Man movies that are part of the MCU continuity despite being produced by Sony. In that case, it was only logical to assume that the prequel film would also be part of the MCU, at least, for the actors; what their agents were thinking is a whole different story, though.
Keep in mind that this is not a confirmed story, despite several facts implying such a possibility. Without the actors’ comments, it’s impossible to determine the full truth.
Sources: Variety via X (formerly Twitter), Deadline