Johnson has a point. “Madame Web” doesn’t feel like a movie with a singular vision — it feels like something studio execs dreamed up with cartoon dollar signs in their eyes. “It’s set in the same world as Spider-Man!” they probably thought. “What could go wrong?” What went wrong was the fact that audiences simply didn’t care about Madame Web. People love Spider-Man, and people also love Spider-Man character Venom, which is why Sony’s “Venom” movies did well at the box office. But people don’t give a damn about second-tier Marvel characters like Morbius and Madame Web. That’s not to say lesser-known characters can’t inspire audiences to turn out. But you have to give viewers a reason to care; you have to give them something good.
In any case, Johnson is pretty sure her superhero movie days are over. As she told Bustle:
“I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, Wait, what? But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”
And there you have it. Let us never speak of “Madame Web” again.