Sydney Sweeney, one of the stars of the widely panned Spider-Man spin-off Madame Web, has revealed she is not too concerned about the film's underwhelming commercial and critical reception.
Sweeney, who portrays Julia Cornwall, also known as Spider-Woman, in Madame Web, told the Los Angeles Times that she is unfazed by the intense, mocking response to the much-maligned movie and is happy to roll with the punches because she chose to take the job, whether it turned out to be a success or a flop.
"I was just hired as an actress in it, so I was just along for the ride for whatever was going to happen," Sweeney said.
These remarks come after Sweeney poked fun at Madame Web during her Saturday Night Live monologue earlier this month by proudly emphasizing the other acting roles she is known for and completely disowning her most recent turn as the Spidey superheroine, saying: "You definitely did not see me in Madame Web."
Sweeney stars in Madame Web alongside a trio of female Spider-Heroes, including Celeste O'Connor as Mattie Franklin/Spider-Woman, Isabela Merced as Anya Corazón/Spider-Girl, and Dakota Johnson in the titlular role of Cassandra Webb, a paramedic who develops the power to see the future and therefore change it.
The story had promise, and the trailer made a strong impression on the internet, with one line of dialogue becoming a viral hit, but it wasn't enough to drive ticket sales. Madame Web only managed to pull in $17.6 million in the U.S. during its 3-day opening weekend, making it the worst opening for any Spider-Man Universe movie.
Madame Web received largely negative reviews from critics (with a disappointingly low Rotten Tomatoes score of 12%), and it seemed like everyone had something to say about it, including Dakota Johnson. She admitted she was "not surprised" by the reaction to the movie and would probably "never do anything like it again."
Hideo Kojima, the legendary game director behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, couldn't muster up more than six words in his review. IGN, however, managed a few more, putting the film's failings down to an "overcrowded" script loaded with "extraneous characters, basic archetypes, and generic dialogue."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
