Sydney Sweeney used her recent Saturday Night Live monologue to joke about her role (or rather, non-role) in Madame Web after the Spider-Man spin-off tanked at the box office.
Introducing herself to the SNL audience on March 2, Sweeney, who plays Julia Carpenter, aka Spider-Woman, in Sony's Madame Web, poked fun at the widely panned superhero film by proudly emphasizing the other acting roles she is known for and completely disowning her most recent turn as the Spidey superheroine.
"You might have seen me in Anyone But You or Euphoria," Sweeney suggested before pausing for a beat and adding: "You definitely did not see me in Madame Web."
Sydney Sweeney's monologue! pic.twitter.com/Bk0M6e25VG
— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) March 3, 2024
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.
It received largely negative reviews from critics, leading to an underwhelming Rotten Tomatoes score of 13%. Even Hideo Kojima, the legendary game director behind Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding, chimed in with a scanty six-word, one-sentence comment, writing on X/Twitter, "Saw Madame Web at the theater."
Saw “Madame Web” at the theater. pic.twitter.com/HMd11PxfTN
— HIDEO_KOJIMA (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) March 2, 2024
IGN's review of Madame Web offered up a few more thoughts, noting the film "has the makings of an interesting hybrid – part superhero movie, part psychological thriller – but with a script overcrowded with extraneous characters, basic archetypes, and generic dialogue, it fails the talent and the future of its onscreen Spider-Women."
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
