How Much Screen Time Do the Stylish Spider-Suits Get in MADAME WEB?
As Sony Pictures’ Marvel movie, Madame Web gets torn apart by most critics, more information about the movie is being revealed. One thing that I wanted to specifically talk about in this post is how much screen time the lead characters get to wear their stylish Spider-Suits in the movie. There are some spoilers in this article.
The costumes in the film are worn by Sydney Sweeney as Julia Cornwall/Spider-Woman, Celeste O'Connor as Mattie Franklin/Spider-Girl, and Isabela Merced as Anya Corazon/Araña.
Well, it turns out that if you’ve seen any of the trailers for the movie, it’s not much more than what you see in the trailer. The costumes are featured in the movie for only a couple of minutes… if that. So, the reality of screentime allotted to these meticulously crafted costumes falls short of expectations.
The climactic battle featuring the trio of Spider-Women battling against Ezekiel Sims, teased as a pivotal showdown in promotional trailers, is confined to a brief sequence barely extending beyond its trailer showcase.
Also, SPOILER ALERT, the fight is revealed to be a premonition that’s experienced by Ezekiel, and it’s presented in a way that unfortunately obscures a full appreciation of the costumes' details.
On top of that Julia, Mattie, and Anya don’t even acquire their superpowers or don their super suits until the film's conclusion hints at their eventual transformation. This pivotal moment in the film, however, is marred by the use of seemingly recycled footage, diluting the impact of their heroic emergence.
As for Dakota Johnson’s Cassie Webb, a.k.a. Madame Web, she finally "suits up" in her costume only in the film's final moments. The reveal is fleeting, though, offering but a seconds-long glimpse of her costume.
The creative mind behind these costume designs is Ngila Dixon, and the director of the film, SJ Clarkson talked about the costumes, saying: "Simply, you hire Ngila Dixon. She is the most extraordinary costume designer. She comes from a place of character and she really thinks about who they are, who they want to be, and how they’d like to be portrayed. I think that’s a balance of what we got out of those looks."
She added: "They wanted to be confident but there’s something pulling them back, and that’s where Ngila is absolutely brilliant. Obviously, with how that translated to them as regular teenagers and into their potential selves in the future."
It’s a shame that they didn’t utilize the costumes that Dixon designed and created more in the film.