MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Reflects On Her Marvel Experience And The Positives Of Making The Panned Movie

MADAME WEB Star Sydney Sweeney Reflects On Her Marvel Experience And The Positives Of Making The Panned Movie

Anyone But You and Immaculate star Sydney Sweeney has reflected on playing Madame Web's Spider-Woman, explaining why she decided to join the ill-fated movie and how she feels about the negative reviews.

By JoshWilding - May 22, 2025 12:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Madame Web
Source: Empire Online

Given Sony Pictures' largely dismal track record with its Marvel movies, most fans didn't have particularly high expectations for Madame Web. So, when the movie debuted with 12% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned only $100.3 million at the worldwide box office, no one was shocked. 

Despite boasting an impressive cast and a director with superhero experience in SJ Clarkson (Jessica JonesThe Defenders), little to nothing about Madame Web worked. Now, it's destined to be remembered as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. 

While lead star Dakota Johnson was wifely ridiculed for her performance as the title character, Isabala Merced and Sydney Sweeney managed to emerge largely unscathed. 

Talking to Empire Online, Sweeney, who played Julia Cornwall/Spider-Woman, reflected on her experience of making a superhero movie. 

"It’s always fun to be able to be a part of something that’s bigger than yourself," she started. "I hadn’t done a studio film yet, and I had started my production company [Fifty-Fifty Films]. I had some properties that I really wanted to be able to take out to studios, and I needed to be able to get my name to have more value, within a studio household."

"Doing a project like that really helps you on in the market. I also wanted to be able to do something that my cousins can watch. I have a bunch of little teenage cousins, and they don’t really understand what I do," Sweeney continued. "I thought it would be so cool to be able to do something that they’d actually think was fun and cool."

When the site pointed out to her that Madame Web was a critical and commercial flop, she responded, "I mean, I had a really fun time, so that is all that matters to me. I think that if you are enjoying what you do, it doesn’t really matter what the outcome is, on a box-office level. Of course, you want the film to be celebrated and loved and successful, because then everyone succeeds."

Sweeney has quickly moved on from Madame Web, both in terms of her acting projects and the movies she's producing. On the way for the Spider-Woman actress is an untitled Christy Martin biopic, The Housemaid, and video game adaptation, Split Fiction. She's also expected to return in HBO's Euphoria

As for comic book roles, it's unclear whether Sweeney intends to join the MCU or DCU, but she has been rumoured for several Marvel Studios and Star Wars roles in recent months. 

It Wasn't My Fault: MADAME WEB Star Dakota Johnson Explains What Went Wrong With The Failed Marvel Movie
Related:

"It Wasn't My Fault": MADAME WEB Star Dakota Johnson Explains What Went Wrong With The Failed Marvel Movie

You Know What?... Sony's MADAME WEB Was Not A Bad Movie
Recommended For You:

You Know What?... Sony's MADAME WEB Was Not A Bad Movie

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.

This post was submitted by a user who has agreed to our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. ComicBookMovie.com will disable users who knowingly commit plagiarism, piracy, trademark or copyright infringement. Please CONTACT US for expeditious removal of copyrighted/trademarked content. CLICK HERE to learn more about our copyright and trademark policies.

Note that ComicBookMovie.com, and/or the user who contributed this post, may earn commissions or revenue through clicks or purchases made through any third-party links contained within the content above.

TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 5/22/2025, 12:06 PM
Get it!!!
archstar
archstar - 5/22/2025, 12:06 PM
FIRST LETS GO FINALLY ANOTHER ARTICLE HAHAH YES FIRST WWWWWWWWWWWWW
SuperCat
SuperCat - 5/22/2025, 12:11 PM
@archstar - User Comment Image
TheFinestSmack
TheFinestSmack - 5/22/2025, 12:14 PM
@SuperCat - User Comment Image
SuperCat
SuperCat - 5/22/2025, 12:15 PM
@TheFinestSmack - LOLOLOLOLOL
thebamf
thebamf - 5/22/2025, 12:40 PM
@archstar -
User Comment Image
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/22/2025, 12:56 PM
@SuperCat - @TheFinestSmack @archstar -

User Comment Image
RolandD
RolandD - 5/22/2025, 1:16 PM
@TheFinestSmack - LOLOLOL. Plus it brings back memories for me because my daughter used to speed skate.
Nonameforme
Nonameforme - 5/22/2025, 12:09 PM
Did you know more people are killed by falling coconuts than are killed by sharks? Mostly because sharks have no thumbs so they can't throw coconuts at you. I assume.
harryba11zack
harryba11zack - 5/22/2025, 12:15 PM
i don't know what the phuck she said but who really gives a sh1t? shes a great actor.
User Comment Image
HashTagSwagg
HashTagSwagg - 5/22/2025, 12:19 PM
@harryba11zack - *ActreSS, people always forget that there's two of them and they're big

User Comment Image
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/22/2025, 2:59 PM
@harryba11zack - exactly.
THEKENDOMAN
THEKENDOMAN - 5/22/2025, 12:21 PM
Man, Madame Web.

Such a cool character.

But Sony and their bollocks.

Quite unfortunate.

For [frick]s Sake
SuperCat
SuperCat - 5/22/2025, 12:22 PM
User Comment Image
mountainman
mountainman - 5/22/2025, 12:25 PM
If this movie had featured the Spider Women for more of its runtime than 2 minutes, it could have almost been watchable. But it was just such a slog to get through. Also maybe if Dakota Johnson and the guy who played the villain and obviously had to be over dubbed could actually act it could have helped too.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/22/2025, 12:58 PM
refuse to watch this movie and never will... but her comments are very mature and professional for someone who is an emerging star in Hollywood.. Good for her. Truly enjoyed her with Powell in Anyone But You
mountainman
mountainman - 5/22/2025, 1:44 PM
@MotherGooseUPus - I decided to give it a chance on Netflix recently and it was incredibly bad. Almost nothing of value, besides the one scene of them in costume, which was just a prediction of the future and didn’t actually happen!
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/22/2025, 1:48 PM
@mountainman - User Comment Image
mountainman
mountainman - 5/22/2025, 2:57 PM
@MotherGooseUPus - I was drunk and bored and thought it might be a “so bad it’s good” thing. It most certainly was not. Kraven almost was so bad it was enjoyable, but only for a few parts. The rest was just bad. Not as bad as this movie though.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/22/2025, 3:05 PM
@mountainman - LOL. that sounds Exactly like something i would do. I watched Kraven, it was bad but i did enjoy parts of it. Same with Morbius, soooo bad but a few parts i liked. I'd say the Worst CBM ive ever seen is Birds of Prey. God awful. I will never watch this or F4.
mountainman
mountainman - 5/22/2025, 3:53 PM
@MotherGooseUPus - Birds of Prey was exponentially less bad than Madame Web. Shit even Catwoman and Steel were probably more entertaining, in the so bad they were good way at least. Literally other than the cool suits that you saw 100% of in the trailer, there was nothing else worth seeing.
MotherGooseUPus
MotherGooseUPus - 5/22/2025, 6:46 PM
@mountainman - wow, shocked to hear that. thanks for confirming i dont need to waste anytime watching it lol
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/22/2025, 1:05 PM
User Comment Image

Why is she looking down at me in this condescending manner while dressed in latex? How did she figure out my femdom fetish?
What's that Ms. Sweeney? You're gonna back up your brapper and we're gonna play "dump truck"?
Oh no! Not that! Anything but that!
This is my worst nightmare come true!
Nooooooooooo!

*Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep*
RolandD
RolandD - 5/22/2025, 1:19 PM
@Feralwookiee - Hilarious. Some of your comment I do not understand and I think that I want to keep it that way.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/22/2025, 3:01 PM
@RolandD - yeah, I thought about reading it again and decided 'why ruin a good thing.'
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 5/22/2025, 8:03 PM
@RolandD - User Comment Image 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
RolandD
RolandD - 5/22/2025, 1:19 PM
I like her attitude.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/22/2025, 2:35 PM
@RolandD - I like her attitudes too. Very big attitudes.
ObserverIO
ObserverIO - 5/22/2025, 2:36 PM
Even though Spidey Brand New Day is sounding more street level now, we know it's gonna get multiversal in the third act due to being sandwiched between the two Avengers movies, so why not bring in the Sween in full femdom like everybody wants.
JacobsLadder
JacobsLadder - 5/22/2025, 2:58 PM
She did a great job making lemonade. And she's smoking hot.
theFUZZ008
theFUZZ008 - 5/22/2025, 3:08 PM
Someone post some gifs!
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 5/22/2025, 4:31 PM
User Comment Image
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 5/22/2025, 4:35 PM
User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image

User Comment Image
BlackStar25
BlackStar25 - 5/22/2025, 4:38 PM
User Comment Image
NinnesMBC
NinnesMBC - 5/23/2025, 1:37 AM
This isn't actually the first time she answered this question, she did before but unlike now she didn't explain it by saying it was "in order to build bridges" because it was thanks to getting involved with this "studio film" that she was able to get the means to convince Sony to produce Anyone But You. Now she's more blatant, she had to get her name out there and gain value.

And that's pretty much why I've never been super excited like many do about her being cas as Black Cat because it'll just be in the end another one-and-done job for her like it was in Madame Web. Means to an end, instead of being something that she actually feels strong about it and connects on a serious level.

With that said I'm actually looking forward to some of her films like Echo Valley and the boxing biopic, among others. But I still think pursuing a Barbarella remake is a huge mistake, she should really hear what Jane Fonda has said about it. It honestly would have more chances of success if it was animated.

Please log in to post comments.

Don't have an account?
Please Register.

View Recorder
OSZAR »