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Perhaps it’s necessary to reconsider Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The universe, as you probably know, was created through a deal between Sony and Marvel to bring Spider-Man back into the MCU. Essentially, this deal allows Marvel to produce Spider-Man movies for Sony, and Sony to produce Spider-Man movies for themselves, but none of Sony’s Spider-Man films can feature Spider-Man. Does this sound logical?
Initially, Sony’s announcement may have appeared as if they were at a disadvantage. Creating an entire cinematic universe based on minor roles and appearances, while also being contractually restricted from using the gravitational force that made these characters interesting, seemed like a futile task. For example, in Venom, a major Spider-Man antagonist was aimlessly wandering without Spider-Man’s involvement, which felt like the inevitable result of capitalism. Similarly, in Morbius, a lesser-known Spider-Man villain struggled to justify their own existence for an hour and a half, symbolizing capitalism’s self-destruction. Ultimately, this project seemed doomed from the start.
I have reversed my previous opinion after watching the trailer for Madame Web, the newest addition to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. I now understand that the intention of the film is to be poorly done, as it seems to be the only reasonable explanation for all of it.
Cassandra Webb, portrayed by Dakota Johnson, plays the role of Madame Web in this film. After an accident where she falls into a river, Cassandra gains the ability of clairvoyance. She begins to have visions of an evil Spider-Man (not officially Spider-Man, but a man in a suit resembling the superhero) who is determined to harm her and the group of Strong Female Characters she resides with in a forest.
Fortunately, Cassandra is aware of the true persona of the malicious Spider-Man. This knowledge stems from the fact that she and her mother were in the Amazon together for spider research before her mother’s passing. This information is confirmed when Cassandra explicitly states, in a genuine line of dialogue from a blockbuster film written by a human, that he was present during her mother’s spider research in the Amazon before her untimely death.
This particular phrase is a clear indication of the hidden plan to intentionally make Sony’s Spider-Man Universe as terrible as possible. The internet has been flooded with memes featuring this line, which have the potential to provide energy to entire cities. Some of these memes depict the line as the final line in the movie Chinatown, while others show Darth Vader saying it to Luke Skywalker, causing Luke to cry out in despair. Even former President George W. Bush has been incorporated into memes involving this line, particularly on the morning of September 11. There are countless variations of memes featuring Dakota Johnson telling Ellen DeGeneres about someone being in the Amazon with her mother right before her death while researching spiders.
The statement, “he was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders just before she died,” is hardly even considered a line. It serves as a blatant nod to the audience that Madame Web is meant to be disliked. The entire concept was carefully crafted with the sole purpose of provoking hatred. This strategy is aimed at creating a sense of mystery, which ultimately leads to admiration and a devoted following. It is clear that this was the intended objective.
Sony has a history of responding quickly and effectively. For example, with the movie Venom, although it was originally poorly received, they were able to turn it around and create a successful sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, that actually poked fun at the first film. They also responded to the negative reception and commercial failure of Morbius by acknowledging the ridicule it received online and re-releasing it in theaters for people to collectively mock.
Sony has come to the realization that their non-Spider-Man related Spider-Man movies are not well-received, similar to when Tommy Wiseau admitted that his passion project, The Room, was actually a comedy. This means that no one is excited to see the upcoming film, Madame Web, in hopes that it will be good. Instead, people may only go to watch it as a joke with their friends and mock the dialogue, such as when Dakota Johnson’s character mentions her mother’s spider research before her death. It’s possible that they may even throw objects at the screen. However, there is a chance that it could still be an enjoyable outing. Maybe Sony has a plan after all.
Source: theguardian.com
