Madame Web Director's Defense Of A Ridiculed Choice Makes Sense - But It's Still A Bad Idea
"Madame Web" is a massive misfire of epic proportions, one where the worst critic reviews include choice phrases like "doomed to be forgotten." So what happened? One common complaint lobbed toward the film is that while the story naturally focuses on Cassandra Webb (Dakota Johnson), as she's destined to become the soothsayer Madame Web, it sort of sidelines the other three girls — Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney), Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor), and Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced). We don't see them get their powers or suit up outside of brief visions of the future, which feels like an unnecessary tease. Now, director S.J. Clarkson has spoken out about the decision to leave the girls depowered for the time being.
On ComicBook.com's "Phase Zero" podcast, Clarkson said, "I thought it would be a bit greedy to do four origin stories," referring to how the three future Spider-Women don't really get their origins explained in this movie. She elaborated that it's ultimately Madame Web's story, and that's what she wanted to focus on. Honestly, that makes sense. Trying to cram four origin stories into a single film sounds like a recipe for disaster, but then again, "Madame Web" audiences ended up with just that.
A character like Madame Web, who was introduced with all her powers in the comics, probably never needed an origin story. But if one's going to attempt to show that on the big screen, this simply wasn't the way to go about it. Ultimately, viewers are left with a movie setting up future stories that might never be told, given the film's poor box office performance. It's a vision for a future that will never be.
Too many teases, not enough payoff
The idea of "Madame Web" as an origin story came up in an interview TheWrap conducted with several of the film's actors. When discussing how they only appear in Spider-suits during clairvoyant visions, Isabela Merced said that this didn't bother her. "This is supposed to be an origin story," she stated. "It wouldn't be an origin story if we saw us in like, half the movie with our suits on. I like that it's a little tease, and I like that it leaves people wanting more." Sadly, it seems to have done the opposite where no one is clamoring for "Madame Web 2." And it likely comes down to too much teasing and not enough paying off.
The concept of Chekhov's gun states that all elements of a story must be relevant; namely, if a gun is introduced at the beginning of a story, it needs to be shot by the end. "Madame Web" has a scene near the beginning where Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) has a vision where he's killed by the three future Spider-Women. We see them in costume and using various powers. That would seem to suggest we might see them later in their Spider-suits, actually using their powers in a present-day situation. Instead, "Madame Web" concludes with a future vision of the girls in costume, alongside Cassie, who now has a better handle on her clairvoyance. However, it's just a suggestion of what might happen.
One could argue whether or not Madame Web is the kind of character who needed an origin story to begin with. Even if she did, there was a better way to go about it.
Let's pitch an alternate Madame Web
If Sony really wanted to do a Madame Web origin story, that's fine. But what if they went in a direction where the three Spider-Women were fully formed? Imagine a movie that opens with Ezekiel Sims killing one of the other Spider-People, powers and all (think the opening scene of "Watchmen"). He does it because he has a vision that a vigilante will murder him, but afterward, the vision changes to another Spider-Person eventually killing him. He keeps going after all these Spider-People because the visions always change no matter who he kills. All the while, Cassie Webb gets her origin, which results in her developing powers to see into the future, so it's up to her to save these Spider-People before Ezekiel finds them. That way, audiences could see a Madame Web origin story but still potentially get superpowered Spider-Women in action.
Granted, there's a litany of reasons why a plot like that may not have been feasible, whether due to budgetary restraints or Sony's reluctance to commit to introducing any kind of Spider-Person into its shared cinematic universe. There's also something to be said of what "Madame Web" was attempting to do by telling a different kind of superhero story. The movie has more thriller elements and even gives off major "Final Destination" vibes at certain points. Unfortunately, it's not the thought that counts in this instance.
Keeping the focus on Madame Web totally makes sense, and there are certainly other issues outside of three women not wearing superhero costumes in the film's present day. However, in this instance, giving viewers a little something to tide them over during this Spider-Man-less "Spider-Man" story may have been the better route to take.