The Spider-Man and Euphoria Venn diagram just got a little more overlap, as Sony's reportedly cast Sydney Sweeney (The White Lotus) an upcoming movie. While we don't know if Zendaya will appear alongside her, it's exciting news to see one of the fastest rising young actors nab a role in what could be a big movie.
According to Deadline, Sweeney is signed onto Madame Web, which Dakota Johnson (The Fifty Shades films) is already attached to. S.J. Clarkson (The Defenders, Jessica Jones, Life on Mars) will be spinning the webs as director, while Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (both worked on Sony's Morbius and Netflix's Lost in Space) are writing the film.
It has yet to be revealed who will play the titular Madame Web, who was more the mastermind of a multiverse-crossing series of stories that saw multiple Peter Parkers (Spider-Men?) meet in the animated TV show. Sources tell Deadline that the project could take another form, as the Madame Web in the comics didn't actually fight. "Insiders" say that the cinematic Madame Web will be similar to Doctor Strange, bearing psychic sensory powers.
Analysis: Sydney Sweeney is a huge get for Sony
While the MCU films have been stellar at casting their next generation of young actors — Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova and Hailee Steinfeld as Kate Bishop come to mind, after their fantastic scenes together in Hawkeye — Sony's casting hasn't been that great since they pulled in Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jacob Batalon for the most recent Spider-Man movies.
Instead, Sony's about to trot out Jared Leto (whose time as The Joker was less than inspiring) for Morbius. Sony's Kraven movie, which is reportedly about to start filming, does a little better at skewing younger with Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the starring role.
Sweeney, on the other hand, has proven to be an extremely valuable actress. Throughout each and every airing of Euphoria, her work as Cassie Howard continued to steal the show. That said, we don't think Sony's ready to put the actress through the same kind of ultra-risque drama that Cassie endured. But her strong work in Euphoria and in HBO's The White Lotus was a huge sign that Sweeney is a young star on the rise.
In case you were wondering, Sony's recent Disney contract shows that Madame Web would likely stream on Disney Plus after a stint on Netflix.
