Fueling Rumors Of Friction With Sony, Dakota Johnson Says She Hasn’t Watched ‘Madame Web’ And “Probably Won’t”
Jacob Smith
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It seems like nobody likes Sony Pictures’ Madame Web – including its lead actress, Dakota Johnson.
Okay, that’s admittedly a bit of speculation. However, it’s based on the very real admission from the star of the universally-panned film herself that not only has she yet to actually watch it for herself, but she is unsure whether or not she ever will.
RELATED: ‘Madame Web’ Gets Squished, Posts Worse Opening Day Box Office Than ‘Morbius’ And ‘The Marvels’
As of this writing, the latest entry in Sony’s ‘Spider-Man-Universe-Without-Spider-Man’ is on pace to perform even worse than – and thus lose the studio even more money in comparison to – its predecessor, Morbius, which bombed in theaters twice, did in 2022.
In other words, audiences have outright refused to watch the Spider-themed disaster – and they aren’t the only ones.
During a promotional interview with Magic Radio, Johnson made it clear that despite having recently attending the film’s premiere, she has yet to actually see Madame Web for herself.
“I haven’t actually seen the movie,” said Johnson. “I probably won’t. I don’t know when I’ll see it. Someday.”
In a further blow to Madame Web‘s reputation, Johnson then confirmed that while she did not particularly like watching her own movies, she had still mustered up the desire to watch “some of them”.
“I don’t like [watching my own films],” said the actress. “For me, it’s a way to not have a existential crisis. For me, not watching my movies is like self-care.”
On the surface, this may seem like a harmless comment – but when you look at the chain of events that preceded the film’s release, it seems there’s more to it than meets the eyes.
Speculation as to Johnson’s disappointment with Madame Web first kicked off when both she and her co-star Sydney Sweeney tagged Marvel Studios proper in their respective Instagram posts announcing their casting.
Given that the Spider-spin-off exists solely under the control of Sony, this seeming mistake led many online fans to presume that both women had agreed to join the cast of Madame Web under the mistaken belief that it would an official entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and thus extrapolate that they were likely not happy upon discovering otherwise.
Then there were the rumblings on social media that Johnson had been very unhappy with the creative direction of Madame Web from the second she had signed on to the project.
Credence was later lent to these whispers when the actress herself revealed that the script which moviegoers ultimately tore apart was far removed from the one originally pitched to her, telling TheWrap in a promotional interview, “There were drastic changes, and I can’t even tell you what they were.”
Further fuel was thrown on the fire when, just days after the first (and only) trailer for Madame Web dropped on social media to an intensely negative response – being widely mocked for its dated early-2000s aesthetic, bizarre costumes, cringe-worthy dialogue, and soulless characters – Johnson decided to swap out her representation from the Hollywood talent agency CAA to its competitor WME.
This move was said to have raised industry eyebrows as it suggested that she was not happy with neither the backlash the trailer had received nor the entire production itself.
Johnson then further fed the rumor mill when she made disparaging remarks about the film while hosting Saturday Night Live, telling audiences that Madame Web is like “if A.I. generated your boyfriend’s perfect movie.”
If the rumors are true and Dakota Johnson’s unhappiness is a direct result of this poor film, it seems its actresses might have had a worse time making the film than audiences had watching it.
While speculation into Johnson’s unhappiness currently remains just that, what is known is that there is no way Sony is happy with Madame Web‘s poor reception, as the film is currently on track to go down in both box office and cinema history as one of the worst superhero films ever made.
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