On 15 February, Malaysians will bear witness to the rise of one of Marvel’s most enigmatic superheroines, Madame Web! But before we catch it, some of us have a few ‘urgent’ questions about what to expect from the upcoming Marvel movie.
And what better way to get our answers than from Madame Web herself – BAFTA-nominated and award-winning actress and producer, Dakota Johnson, who gives us a glimpse of what we can be excited about for Madame Web!
1. What was it like to play a hero whose powers exist within her mind?
Dakota Johnson admitted that before starring in Madame Web, she never saw herself as the type to play a superhero. “But when I learned that Madame Web’s superhero power is her mind — and that she’s a young woman — I just thought that was the most interesting superpower to have,” she said.
As a clairvoyant, Madame Web has the power to astral project and traverse different realms. “I think she lives in an energetic state and is kind of like in the fifth dimension. She can go in and out of reality and can transcend space and time.”
Unlike the Marvel Comics, where Madame Web is depicted as a blind old woman in a wheelchair who’s also one of the most powerful superheroines, the movie will instead explore her origin story.
“So we start when she’s a young woman,” Johnson explained. “Ultimately in the comics, she ends up being an old woman who develops a neurodegenerative disease. But since we are starting way back when, she’s a paramedic; she’s kind of an everyday hero, she is an independent and complex woman.”
Even though there’ll be no shortage of mind-bending action and a villain with crazy superpowers, Madame Web is essentially still “grounded in reality because it exists inside (her) mind.”
2. Can you describe your character, Cassandra Webb, as we meet her in the beginning of the film?
When we first meet Cassie Webb, she’s a paramedic in New York City who kept to herself most of the time. “She doesn’t have any family, she has one or two friends who are fellow paramedics, but she is icy and keeps to herself.”
But while making a dangerous rescue, Cassie’s life ends briefly before she’s brought back to life by her partner – little did she know that the accident serves as the catalyst for Cassie’s powers to awaken. “She sees things that she doesn’t recognise as parts of her life. She doesn’t know if they’re dreams or visions; she chalks it up to the accident, that maybe she has a brain injury.”
Unbeknownst to Cassie, her powers also inadvertently brought three young women to cross her path, played by Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor. And when a mysterious man clad in a black superhero costume starts hunting each of them down, Cassie discovers that they’re future Spider-Women who haven’t realised their destinies yet.
“I was really intrigued by the relationship that she has with the three younger women – how she becomes a maternal figure to them while empowering them to discover their true natures as Spider-Women.”
Though Spider-Man himself will not be making an appearance in Madame Web, Johnson teases that there will be familiar names from other connected universes that movie-goers will get a kick out of. “Who knows what will happen in the future?”
3. What do you hope audiences will take away from Madame Web?
With Madame Web, Johnson hopes that movie-goers don’t see it simply as just another superhero movie. “I hope that it feels like a refreshing take on a superhero movie and I hope that it feels grounded,” she explained. “I hope young women connect to wanting to discover the most powerful version of themselves (after watching it).”
Madame Web will begin showing in Malaysian cinemas on 15 February. Get your tickets here for a superheroine movie like no other with Madame Web and the Spider-Women!
