Madame Web is Sony’s fourth film in their “Spider-Man universe without Spider-Man”. It all began with Venom back in 2018 and despite all the poor reviews, I believe it is the best film of this franchise. The $800 million success of Venom spawned a sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and that was a freak show. However, the highlight of Sony’s brainchild had to be when they made Morbius with Jared Leto. Did no one see they were literally making the worst film ever? Well, apparently not. Much time has passed since Morbius but Sony refuses to back down from their strong belief that they can indeed make a working Spider-Man universe.
Which is why they’re continuing to put money and faith into these films. If you happen to be the only person except for Sony of course who still cares about this film then here is the complete plot summary and ending explanation of Madame Web.
Who Dies In Madame Web? Is Spider-Man In The Film? All Questions Answered!
The groundwork for the film is laid by Cassie’s (Dakota Johnson) mother’s death in the Amazonian rainforest. The film begins with Cassie’s mother, Constance researching spiders in the Peruvian Jungle alongside Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) who later becomes the main antagonist of the film. This flashback scene set in 1973 and was also referenced in the trailer.
Cassie says these lines in the trailer, “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.” However, this dialogue doesn’t feature in the film. Constance who is pregnant with Cassie dies while giving birth to her in labor following a gunshot fired from Ezekiel Sims.
Later in the film it is revealed that Constance’s obsession with spiders stemmed from the fact that Cassie had contracted a life-altering disease, even before her birth. Constance had to find a cure for her child to survive. The opening scene immediately connects Cassie with the Amazonian Spider-people because Constance was bitten by a powerful spider just before her death, leading to Cassie’s increased life expectancy.
This is also why Cassie has her psychic abilities. Another important death happens in the film but in the form of a vision. Ezekiel Sims dreams about his own death where he is killed by three spider-women (Sweeney, Merced, and O’Connor’s characters) and this sets him on a villainous path to track down these women and kill them before they kill him.
Cassie has an alternate vision revealing Ezekiel succeeding in killing these three women which is where the plot of the film begins, with Cassie trying to save these women from Ezekiel. At the end of the film, Cassie is the one who kills Ezekiel and puts an end to his hunt. However, winning always comes at a price. As she defeats Ezekiel, Cassie is crushed and loses her eyesight and the ability to walk.
For anyone familiar with the film comics, this is not a surprise. As this is an origin story, this was the likely outcome of the film. Dakota Johnson’s Cassandra Web is now like the Madame Web from the comics – blind and paralyzed, but she can access a web of consciousness which allows her to help warn different Spider-People from danger.
There is no post credit scene in Madame Web as the future is teased at the end of the film itself with superheroes like Julia Cornwall, Mattie Franklin, and Anya Corazon all protecting the streets of New York City. Moreover, the film also gives us a glimpse of Madame Web in her iconic super-suit as the clairvoyant psychic uses her out-of-body abilities to project herself floating among the heroines.
As suspected, Peter Parker also makes an appearance in the film, however, not in the capacity that we were expecting. Emma Roberts is introduced as a young Mary Parker (Peter’s mother), her husband Richard is out of town forcing her brother Ben Parker (Adam Scott) to rush Mary to the hospital when her water breaks.
The name Peter is never taken in the film but it is teased in an earlier baby shower scene. Additionally, the film is set in 2003 in an alternate reality from the MCU or SSU (Venom and Morbius). This universe focuses on the origins of Spider-people with Ezekiel being an evil version of Spider-Man without web-slingers, and the future Spider-Women heroes.
The film stars Dakota Johnson, as well as fellow co-stars Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Emma Roberts and most recently Severance’s star Adam Scott. The film is to be directed by S.J. Clarkson and the screenplay of the film is written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, with a previous draft having been penned by Kerem Sanga.
Madame Web is slated to release on 16th February 2024.
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