Madame Web: Sydney Sweeney on playing Julia Carpenter (aka Spider-Woman) in Sony’s upcoming film

Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria, The Voyeurs) is taking Hollywood by the horns while dodging rumors on her way to the top. Saying it’s challenging to watch people speculate about your life and family online, Sweeney recently cleared the air while speaking with Variety about her determination to rise above the rabble. Her conversation with the outlet occurred three weeks before the SAG-AFTRA strike when many actors entered a battle for better representation, work conditions, and more throughout the entertainment industry. Speaking with Variety, Sweeney confirmed she’s playing Julia Carpenter (aka Spider-Woman) in Sony’s Madame Web, starring Dakota Johnson as the lead heroine.

In addition to confirming her role, Sweeney says she headed to a comic shop shortly after joining Sony/Marvel’s Madame Web. Sweeney loves to read, with some of her favorite books from childhood being the Nancy Drew series and Jeanne DuPrau‘s “The City of Ember” novel. “I was freaking out, of course,” Sweeney says about landing her Madame Web role. “I went straight to the comic store, and I bought every comic that mentioned my character.”

Sweeney also expressed her confidence in Madame Web to Variety, knowing that superhero cinema is experiencing something of a decline at the box office. She thinks people will connect with Madame Web and wants everyone to know where she stands, saying, “I think it’s different from what people expect a superhero movie to be,” she hints. “Quote that! That’s a quote, because the tabloids will pick up everything else we talk about.”

When asked if her character will play a more significant role in Sony’s extended universe of Spider-Man-related films, she said nothing but smiled knowingly. With Sony looking to expand with standalone films like Kraven the Hunter, there’s no telling where Julia Carpenter could appear.

Madame Web will revolve around Cassandra Webb, a character traditionally depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that hinders her movement and respiratory functions. As a byproduct of her condition, Madame Web remains connected to a life support system that looks like a spider’s web. Not without powers of her own, Cassandra is clairvoyant and imbued with precognitive abilities that allow her to see other’s paths along the “web of life.” The Madame Web character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which Marvel Comics published in November of 1980.

One thing’s for sure, Sony and Marvel’s Madame Web boasts plenty of talent, including Dakota Johnson as Madame Web / Cassandra Webb, Emma Roberts as Mary Parker, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon, Sydney Sweeney as Julia Carpenter, Adam Scott as Ben Parker, and more. S.J. Clarkson directs from a screenplay by Kerem Sanga.

Are you excited to see Sweeney in Sony and Marvel’s Madame Web? Do you think the movie will set itself apart from other superhero films? Let us know in the comments below.