Dakota Johnson on ‘Madame Web’: “I don’t make sense in that world”
Dakota Johnson has revealed she is unlikely to sign onto another project similar to Madame Web again after her difficult experience of the superhero world.
Johnson starred as the titular psychic superhero in Marvel’s movie adaptation of Madame Web, which was released earlier this year. Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, and Adam Scott all took on supporting roles, while S. J. Clarkson directed the film.
The film took in over $90 million at the box office, slightly less than anticipated, and has since been mocked relentlessly on social media. Johnson has now acknowledged the criticism, telling Bustle that she’s “not surprised that it’s gone down the way it has.”
The actor also discussed the current state of filmmaking, criticising the prioritisation of profits over artistry.
“It’s so hard to get movies made, and in these big movies that get made — and it’s even starting to happen with the little ones, which is what’s really freaking me out — decisions are being made by committees, and art does not do well when it’s made by committee,” she stated.
“Films are made by a filmmaker and a team of artists around them,” she continued, “You cannot make art based on numbers and algorithms. My feeling has been for a long time that audiences are extremely smart, and executives have started to believe that they’re not.”
Nonetheless, Johnson declared that it was “definitely an experience” making Madame Web, though it’s not one she hopes to repeat any time soon.
“I had never done anything like it before,” she admitted, “I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world. And I know that now.”
Johnson suggested that projects can sometimes move away from the initial idea you signed on for, but concluded that Madame Web has provided her with a “real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”
Revisit the trailer for Madame Web below.
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