Fresh off an Emmy nomination for Apple TV’s Severance, Adam Scott – still best known as Ben Wyatt in Parks and Recreation – has been cast in Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web, according to Deadline. He joins Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, Tahar Rahim, Celeste O’Connor and Isabela Merced (who played Dora the Explorer in 2019’s Lost City of Gold).
The director of Madame Web will be SJ Clarkson who is known for directing episodes of TV including Dexter, Jessica Jones, and Succession. Sony has started to expand the SPUMC – the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (we’re not giving up on that name). It all started with Venom, and has continued with Morbius – which didn’t make quite the same impact, unless you count the memes.
Sony has several new projects lined up, including Kraven the Hunter (set for release on January 13, 2023) and Madame Web (which currently has a July 7, 2023 release date). There is also El Muerto, which will star Bad Bunny, as well as a third Venom movie.
In the comics, Madame Web is an elderly and physically-incapacitated woman who has psychic sensory powers, similar to Doctor Strange. Clearly, casting Johnson as the main character means they are going in a different direction to the source material.
Adam Scott has around 125 credits on his IMDb. He has appeared in multiple comedy movies and TV shows, including Step Brothers, Wet Hot American Summer, and The Good Place.
It is not yet known if Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, or maybe a new iteration of the character will interact with any of Sony’s rogue’s gallery of Spidey villains. It seems unlikely, as the rights are obviously complicated, given Spider-Man’s presence in the MCU.
While we wait to hear more, check out our guide to the Spider-Man villains, ranked.