Sony expanding its Spider-Man universe with Madame Web movie

Not long ago, Sony and Marvel had a well-publicized split over Spider-Man. Up until recently, the companies had kinda-sorta had a joint custody thing going, where Marvel would help Sony make its solo Spider-Man movies like Spider-Man: Far From Home and Sony would let Marvel borrow the character for use in blockbusters like Avengers: Endgame. They tried to work out a new deal going forward, but it didn’t work out, so Spider-Man is going to live with mom — who I guess in this analogy is Sony — full-time.

People on both sides of the split are holding out hope for a reconciliation, but for now, Sony is moving forward with plans for an shared Spider-Man cinematic universe by its lonesome. (We’re not sure if Tom Holland will keep playing Spider-Man in those movies; there’s a lot up in the air right now.) There are already plan for at least one follow-up to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, there’s a Venom 2 in the pipeline, and screenwriters Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have penned a movie about Morbius, a vampire and sometimes-foe of Spider-Man. Jeto Leto will head up that one.

Now, Collider reports that the same guys are set to write a movie about Madame Web, another side character from Spider-Man long history. First introduced in Marvel Comics in 1980, Madame Web is a sort of clairvoyant puppet-master type who specializes in mentoring spider-themed superheroes, which is niche work but good if you can get it. She’s usually depicted as a blind elderly woman hooked up to a life support machine shaped like a spider’s web.

Because I am old, I remember Madame Web from the ’90s animated Spider-Man show, where she played merry havoc with Peter Parker’s life:

How do you center a movie around a mysterious character who doesn’t usually leave her chair? I honestly don’t know. But if anyone can figure it out, it’s the writers behind Dracula Untold and Gods of Egypt, amirite?

Collider points out that, in the comics, Madame Web is often associated with the multiverse, so introducing her could be a way for Sony to tie some of its various Spider-franchises together. After all, why limit yourself to one Spider-Man movie series when they could have their own Avengers-style team-up?

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