The director of Madame Web just addressed all the speculation regarding connections to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man in the upcoming Sony Pictures movie.
Ever since set photos started hitting the web from the upcoming spin-off film, fans have started to believe the project would connect back to Sam Raimi's iconic Spider-Man films.
Previous photos showed Boston transformed into NYC in the 2000s—right around the time that Maguire's first Spider-Man took place. One photo even seemingly references Peter Parker's big fire rescue, which only strengthened rumors.
Is Madame Web Connected to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man?
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Madame Web director S.J. Clarkson commented on the rumors that the upcoming Sony's Spider-Man Universe entry might connect to other projects, such as Tobey Maguire's original Spidey films.
Clarkson clarified how Dakota Johnson's Cassandra Webb is "definitely in a standalone world" and how the director was "able to just have free rein:"
“She’s definitely in a standalone world... I was able to just have free rein and let the movie be what it needed to be, as opposed to trying to force it into something else. That was a gift, in a way, to be able to take something and bring a fresh and, I hope, original, take to it.”
She went on to explain how she "really love[s] the idea of somebody who can see into the future:"
“I really love the idea of somebody who can see into the future, but until they can really understand their past and appreciate where they are, they can’t use that power... Without wanting to overload it with profundity, I thought that’s an amazing thing to explore: If we understand our past and see where we are in the present, we can then make better choices for the future.”
Is A Lack of Connections Bad for Madame Web?
Looking at the fan discussion, the hype isn't for Dakota Johnson's Marvel debut isn't too high.
While normally it would be good for a new project like this to proudly stand on its feet, connecting to something well-known and liked probably would have benefitted Madame Web in particular. Without that, there's not all too much excitement for the movie.
One would think out of all of Sony's Marvel projects, what seems to be a Multiverse-like story about multiple different Spider-Woman would be one that could easily reference other projects. But all hope isn't lost until the movie is released and the world can see for itself.
At the very least, hopefully, the movie's post-credits scene, assuming it has one, is better than Morbius'—aka, the worst tag in the history of comic book films.
Madame Web hits theaters on February 14.
