'Euphoria' Star Sydney Sweeney To Join The Cast Of Sony's 'Madame Web' In Upcoming Film That May Take Tom Holland Out Of The MCU
Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney is joining the ranks of dozens of celebrities who have turned into superheroes: Sony has just cast her in their upcoming film Madame Web, the next in a long line of super-films connected to the Spider-man franchise.
Sweeney plays Cassie, a very sweet girl from an abusive family who doesn't always make the best choices - in relationships or otherwise. (Hey, it is Euphoria, after all.) Sweeney is also known for her role in HBO's hit series White Lotus.
It's (mostly) safe to say that Sweeney is not up for the part of Madame Webb herself - we'll let The Direct tell you why:
"Madame Web, is a mutant who debuted in the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man #210 in November 1980. On top of being born blind, Webb also suffers from a neuromuscular disease called myasthenia gravis which left her paralyzed and attached to a life support system. Webb's life support system is a unique chair provided by her late husband, Jonathan, and the design is similar to a spider web - thus paving the way for her to adopt the Madame Web moniker."
Basically: She's old. It's safer to say Sweeney might play a side character in this movie - that is, unless they go with this storyline:
"Madame Web met her tragic end at the hands of Kraven The Hunter...she transferred her powers to Julia Carpenter, a version of Spider-Woman. Being a younger and much more active heroine, Carpenter became the second coming of Madame Web, complete with all of the precognitive abilities of the original character."
So Will Sydney Sweeney and Madame Webb Be Part of The MCU?
Tentatively: Yes and no. The answer to that question - as well as the question of what exactly her power do - is incredibly interesting, because it has much greater implications for the Sony Spider-man universe, the MCU, and all superhero movies going forward.
"Madame Web has a plethora of abilities which include telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition, but the most notable one is her connection with a mysterious force called Web of Life and Destiny, which encompasses the past, present, and future. Essentially, this web holds the multiverse together. Furthermore, this mystical force is said to be the root power source of every hero with spider powers across the multiverse.
"As explained in Marvel's Spider-Verse comic event , through the Web of Life and the so-called Spider-Totems (which are every universe's Spider-Man), Madame Web has the ability to transport any version of Spider-Man across the multiverse. By doing so, the character can effectively transfer MCU's Spider-Man into Sony's Marvel universe to help out in a potential conflict and vice-versa."
If this is how they choose to play it, they could be setting up to sever the Sony universe from the MCU, branching off to create their own Spiderman Cinematic Universe.
Why Would They Take Tom Holland Out Of The MCU?
Remember that the MCU doesn't actually currently own the movie rights to the Spider-man franchise. They still belong to Sony; they simply struck a deal with them back in the days of Infinity War to allow for their Spider-Man to star in five MCU films. When they ran out of films before No Way Home, it led to the well-publicized standoff between the two studios, before they finally made a deal for two additional films. After that, they agreed - Tom Holland would cross cinematic universes to join other characters like Venom, Morbius, and yes, Madame Web.
They have the perfect opportunity to do it, too: With Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness coming out in May, we already know that the fabric of the MCU is going to be seriously bent out of shape. It would make complete sense for our Tom Holland Spidey - who has already been wiped from the memories of his friends and families - to simply leave this universe behind and join the Sony Universe - possibly in another crossover event.
If you want to read more about the likelihood of this eventuality, this article from The Direct has all the answers you could possibly want - even if we can't confirm anything yet.
