Emma Roberts joins 'Spider-Man' spinoff movie 'Madame Web'

Emma Roberts has joined the upcoming 'Madame Web' movie from Sony and Marvel, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The much-awaited film is part of Sony's burgeoning cinematic universe based on 'Spider-Man' and supporting characters. 

The movie, to be directed b SJ Clarkson, will not have any connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Dakota Johnson plays the main role in the movie -- Madame Web herself, who is a clairvoyant mutant that debuted in 1980. In comics, she is an elderly woman connected to a life support system that forms the shape of a web -- thus the name. She suffers from a condition called myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease that causes weakness in muscles. 

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Madame Web is a mentor of many Spider-Men, including the most well-known alter-ego of the character -- Peter Parker. Since Johnson is a young woman, her interpretation in the movie is expected to be quite different. 

Sony's Spider-Man Universe, often shortened to SSU, is the studio's answer to MCU. As mentioned above, it is based on Spider-Man and its supporting characters. Thus far, it has had a rocky start with successes in the form of Tom Hardy-starrer two 'Venom' movies but also a failure in Jared Leto's 'Morbius'. There are many more movies like 'Kraven the Hunter' in development. 

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is also a part of the SSU. A sequel, titled Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, is scheduled to be released on June 2, 2023.

Sony owns the screen rights to Spidey, and the character exists in MCU only because Sony and Marvel Studios have a deal. It is not known if the deal will continue after Spider-Man: No Way Home, which has been by far the biggest success in Sony's history.