Where to stream Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web
Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney star in the superhero blockbuster
From Tom Holland’s MCU to an animated Spider-verse trilogy, cinema appears to have a bit of a spider infestation. As Madame Web arrives on streaming services, it’s only going to level up.
The fourth film in Sony’s own spin-off Spider-Man universe, Madame Web takes its cues from the popular comic book character of the same name that was first introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man number 210 back in 1980.
Created by writer Denny O’Neil and illustrator John Romita Jr, the film’s titular character AKA Cassandra Webb is usually depicted as an older, clairvoyant hero with the ability to see all areas of the Spider World.
Read more: Every upcoming Spider-Man film
Read on for everything you need to know before watching Madame Web, including its plot details, cast and more…
How can I watch Madame Web?
Madame Web is available to buy and rent now on Prime Video, Apple TV and Sky Store, and will be released on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD on 27 May. It isn’t yet out on Netflix UK, despite being out on the US version of the streaming platform.
The film originally landed in UK cinemas on 14 February but was a box-office bomb, grossing just $100m worldwide. It will be followed by fellow Sony Spidey spin-offs later in the year including Venom: The Last Dance on 25 October and Kraven The Hunter on 13 December.
What are the reviews like?
Following Madame Web’s official premiere, reviews started to crawl online — and none of them were very positive about Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney’s Spidey-story. Variety certainly didn’t pull its punches, labelling the film a “hollow Sony-made Spider-Man spinoff with none of the charm you expect from even the most basic superhero movie.”
The Guardian’s write-up called it “a 110-minute head-scratcher” that left viewers with “a baffling string of question marks that remain unanswered.” Elsewhere, The Hollywood Reporter said that Madame Web was a movie that “fails to deliver at every turn.” Ouch.
The film has racked up a critics’ rating of just 11% from 246 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Read our full review round-up below.
Variety: Any Way You Spin It, Dakota Johnson’s Marvel Entry Feels Superfluous (5-min read)
The Guardian: Marvel’s junky spin-off is a tangled mess (5-min read)
The Independent: A desperate comic book misfire that seems embarrassed by its own existence (3-min read)
The Hollywood Reporter: Dakota Johnson Leads a Depressingly Inert Spider-Man Spinoff (4-min read)
The Wrap: Bland Superhero Entry Can’t Overcome Stilted Dialogue, Threadbare Plot (4-min read)
Is there a trailer for Madame Web?
The official trailer for Madame Web was released in November 2023 which gave viewers their first glimpse at Johnson’s first foray into the superhero world.
It set the stage for the story but also gave a glimpse at how Johnson’s character gets to have her powers and who she will be facing in Tahar Rahim’s villain, Ezekiel Sims.
Watch the official Madame Web trailer below:
What happens in Madame Web?
Madame Web marks a change for Sony in that it focuses on a hero, instead of the anti-hero villains it has favoured in films like Venom and Morbius.
Within comic lore, Madame Web is technically considered a mutant with the ability to see all corners of the extended Spider universe. She’s usually depicted as an older woman who suffers from a neuromuscular disease which is combatted by a large spiderweb that acts as a life support system.
The new film offers the character a new origin story, which is hinted at in the film’s official synopsis: “The suspense-driven thriller stars Dakota Johnson as Cassandra Webb, a paramedic in Manhattan who may have clairvoyant abilities. Forced to confront revelations about her past, she forges a relationship with three young women destined for powerful futures...if they can all survive a deadly present.”
After a freak accident while working as a paramedic, Cassandra gains some new superpowers. “When Cassie begins to experience her clairvoyance, she thinks she’s losing her mind,” Johnson told Entertainment Tonight.
Who is in the Madame Web cast?
As detailed above, Fifty Shades of Grey star Johnson plays the movie’s titular role opposite Sydney Sweeney as Julia Cornwall, the character who eventually becomes Spider-Woman.
Johnson and Sweeney are joined by Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire star Celeste O’Connor as one of the three women pivotal to Cassandra’s story. She plays Mattie Franklin, another iteration of Spider-Woman. Rounding out the Spider trio is Isabela Merced who plays Anya Corazon, yet another Spider-Woman who becomes known as Araña.
Discussing how each character fits into the movie’s overall story, Sweeney told Entertainment Tonight: “In this one moment, Cassie connects all three of their lives,” with Merced adding: “Because she’s able to see [the future], she’s able to prevent it. It’s really interesting how it plays on fate, or destiny.”
Read more: The actors with the most MCU appearances
Elsewhere, A Prophet actor Tahar Rahim appears as the film’s big-bad Ezekiel Sims a fellow explorer and spider researcher who was with Cassandra’s mother when she died in the rainforest. He wears an enhanced spider suit and is after the Spider-trio.
Parks & Recreation Adam Scott star plays Spider-Man’s uncle Ben Parker, while Emma Roberts plays Ben’s sister-in-law Mary. Other cast members include The Hangover’s Mike Epps and Girls star Zosia Mamet.
Madame Web was directed by British filmmaker S. J. Clarkson, who has primarily worked in television, helming episodes of Succession, Dexter, Ugly Betty and Jessica Jones.
Madame Web is available to buy and rent now
