‘Severance’ Star Adam Scott Added to the Cast of Sony’s ‘Madame Web’

Adam Scott in “Severance,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

There’s a new piece of casting for Sony’s ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off ‘Madame Web’, with ‘Severance’ star Adam Scott joining the cast.

Naturally, this being a big superhero movie, Scott’s role is a mystery for now, but we could see him playing a loyal friend or some tech bro villain. He’s been solid in both types of roles in the past. The possibilities, though, are endless.

Scott is the latest recruit for an ensemble that already includes Dakota Johnson (who has the lead role, and presumably plays a version of the title character), Emma Roberts, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Mike Epps, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim.

SJ Clarkson, who has worked on shows including ‘Jessica Jones’ and ‘Succession’, is making her film directing debut here, with Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless writing from the script and replacing an earlier draft by Kerem Sanga.

Originally created by writer Denny O’Neil and artist John Romita Jr., Madame Web first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #210, which was published in November 1980.

Photo courtesy of Marvel Entertainment.

Known as Cassandra Webb, she is usually depicted as an elderly blind woman suffering from a chronic neuromuscular disease that makes it difficult to move and breathe, and as such, she’s connected to a life support system that looks like a spider web. The clairvoyant character has telepathic, precognitive, and astral projection abilities and once helped Spider-Man find a kidnap victim.

It doesn’t exactly sound like the basis for a thrilling superhero outing, but Madame Web’s history has crossed path with various heroes. Plus, as you might expect from a comic book character, there has been more than one holder of the title.

In Amazing Spider-Man #636, Madame Web transfers her powers into a younger woman, Julia Carpenter, who takes over the role and oversees storylines such as Spider-Island, which finds all of Manhattan’s population developing Spider powers. We don’t expect Peter Parker – played by Tom Holland or anyone else – to show up, despite the comic-book connection.

Scott, who was previously more known for his comedy work in movies such as ‘Step Brothers’, ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ and ‘Knocked Up’ alongside TV series including ‘Parks & Recreation’ and ‘The Good Place’ has also kept his hand in with drama on screens both big and small on movies including ‘Black Mass’ and ‘August’.

With ‘Severance’, he’s enjoyed his biggest success to date, earning an Emmy nomination this week for his critically lauded role in the Ben Stiller-directed series. While ‘Madame Web’ would mark his first superhero genre movie, he’s no stranger to horror or sci-fi, having appeared in ‘Piranha 3D’, ‘Hellraiser: Bloodline’ and in a small role in ‘Star Trek: First Contact’.

‘Madame Web’ is in production now and will swing into theaters on July 7th next year.