Current:Home > NewsDakota Johnson talks 'Madame Web' and why her famous parents would make decent superheroes -BeyondProfit Compass
Dakota Johnson talks 'Madame Web' and why her famous parents would make decent superheroes
View
Date:2025-04-15 04:20:52
Dakota Johnson is quick to admit that she never thought being in a superhero movie would be “part of my journey.” And yet here she is in “Madame Web,” saving the day with brains and heart rather than a magical hammer.
“Being a young woman whose superpower is her mind felt really important to me and something that I really wanted to work with,” says Johnson, 34, whose filmography includes the “Fifty Shades” trilogy and “The Social Network” as well as film-festival fare like “Cha Cha Real Smooth” and “The Lost Daughter.”
Johnson stars in “Madame Web” (in theaters now) as Cassandra Webb, a New York City paramedic who has psychic visions of the future after a near-death experience and finds herself needing to protect three girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor) from a murderous mystery villain named Ezekiel (Tahar Rahim).
Playing a heroic clairvoyant may not have been in the cards, but perhaps it was in the genetics? Johnson’s parents had their Hollywood heyday in the 1980s and ‘90s − the Stone Age for comic book movies – but she thinks they would have gone for superhero gigs. Her dad, “Miami Vice” icon Don Johnson, "always really loved playing cops, obviously on TV,” she says, and inhabiting a character like Catwoman “would've been a cool thing” for mom Melanie Griffith.
“I’d say ‘Working Girl’ was a superhero myself,” adds “Web” director S.J. Clarkson. “It was for me growing up, anyway.”
'Madame Web' review:Dakota Johnson headlines the worst superhero movie since 'Morbius'
Dakota Johnson puts her own spin on ‘Madame Web’ character
Since the movie is the beginning of Cassandra’s story, Johnson wanted to explore “a younger version” of the character from Marvel’s Spider-Man comic books, where she’s depicted as an elderly blind clairvoyant confined to a chair. Still, in the comics, Cassandra has a “biting” and dark sense of humor and is “very clever and whip-smart,” Johnson says. “That was important to me and S.J. to include.”
Clarkson, who directed episodes of the Marvel streaming shows “Jessica Jones” and “The Defenders,” was excited about Cassie as a woman who doesn't need superhuman strength to be a hero. “The power of our mind has infinite potential and I thought that was really interesting to explore what on first glance feels like quite a challenging superpower,” she says.
Why Dakota Johnson felt like ‘the idiot’ playing a Marvel superhero
The “Madame Web” director reports that Johnson is “proper funny,” and it was important to Clarkson that she include moments of levity in the otherwise serious psychological thriller. In one scene, Cassie tries to walk on walls like Ezekiel – since both get their abilities from a special spider – and she crumples to the ground in defeat. “It was a really wonderful time” for Clarkson, Johnson deadpans. “We did it quite a few times. That was silly.”
There was also a whole otherworldly bent to deal with: Johnson and Clarkson collaborated on the best way to show Cassie’s complex psychic visions, complete with weird spider webs and flashes of future events.
“Working on a blue screen, you really have to activate your imagination a lot,” Johnson says. She had “a really good time” making the movie, but “there were moments where I was just really lost and didn't know what we were doing. It was mostly me that was the idiot who was like, ‘I don't know what's happening.’ ”
veryGood! (53)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs files motion to dismiss some claims in a sexual assault lawsuit
- Poppy Harlow leaves CNN after nearly two decades: 'I will be rooting for CNN always'
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Dressing on the Side
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Brenden Rice, son of Jerry Rice, picked by Chargers in seventh round of NFL draft
- Metal detectorist finds centuries-old religious artifact once outlawed by emperor
- WWE Draft 2024 results: Stars, NXT talent selected on 'Friday Night SmackDown'
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- College protesters vow to keep demonstrations as schools shut down encampments amid reports of antisemitism
Ranking
- McKinsey to pay $650 million after advising opioid maker on how to 'turbocharge' sales
- Josef Newgarden explains IndyCar rules violation but admits it's 'not very believable'
- The Ultimate Guide on How to Read Tarot Cards and Understand Their Meanings
- New EPA Rule Could Accelerate Cleanup of Coal Ash Dumps
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Los Angeles 'Domestead' listed for $2.3M with 'whimsical' gardens: Take a look inside
- Body of climber recovered after 1,000-foot fatal fall on Alaska peak
- United Methodists give early approval to measures that could pave new path on LGBTQ+ issues
Recommendation
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
Hamas says it's reviewing an Israel cease-fire proposal as pressure for peace mounts
What does Harvey Weinstein's case overturn mean for his California conviction?
The 43 Most Popular Amazon Items E! Readers Bought This Month: Trending Fashion, Beauty & More
Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
Frank Gore Jr. signs with Buffalo Bills as undrafted free agent, per report
USC president makes her first remarks over recent campus controversies on Israel-Hamas war
Officials Celebrate a New Power Line to Charge Up the Energy Transition in the Southwest