‘Madame Web’ Director SJ Clarkson Talks No Post-Credits Scene, That ’90s Rumor and Joining the MCU After the Fact

Madame Web filmmaker SJ Clarkson is both persistent and prolific. The British director has helmed at least 109 episodes of television from 2001 until now. She cut her teeth to the tune of 37 episodes on a British medical soap known as Doctors, but that experience eventually paved the way for the likes of Dexter, Orange Is the New Black and Succession. (Her first episode of Dexter ended with John Lithgow’s iconic line of, “Hello, Dexter Morgan.”) 

In recent years, Clarkson’s efforts to mount projects on a massive scale have tested her patience, as her Naomi Watts-led Game of Thrones prequel pilot, Bloodmoon, didn’t go, nor did her version of Star Trek 4 in 2018. Nevertheless, Clarkson’s feature directorial debut, Madame Web, is now arriving in theaters on Feb. 14, and she never imagined that her first film would take place in a universe that’s related to Spider-Man. 

“Every experience I’ve had to date has led me to this moment. Everything is tough to get going in many ways,” Clarkson tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Everything you make is a miracle. But, of course, as you go along the way, there are times when you’re frustrated. So I just hope that the right project comes along at the right time, and I trust fate and intuition.”

Madame Web takes place in 2003, as Dakota Johnson’s clairvoyant Cassie Webb must protect three future Spider-Women — Isabela Merced’s Anya, Celeste O’Connor’s Mattie and Sydney Sweeney’s Julia — from baddie Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) and his premonition that the three unsuspecting teenagers will someday take his life. 

Oddly enough, there was a recent rumor that Madame Web was originally filmed to take place in the ‘90s. The claim put forth the idea that the year was meant to align with the childhood of a future Spider-Man, be it Andrew Garfield’s Peter Parker in the mid-90s or Tom Holland’s in the early aughts. However, set dressing during Madame Web’s principal photography clearly places the film in its 2003 time period, and now Clarkson herself is also throwing cold water on the rumor: “I was sent the script with 2003 in it,” she says.

The film does have a number of ‘90s needle drops from artists such as 4 Non Blondes and The Cranberries, and Clarkson responds to whether that aspect may have resulted in the rumor.

“I don’t know, maybe, although some of [the needle drops] are on the edge of 2003,” Clarkson says. “When you look at making something in a specific year, I always think it’s dangerous to just have all the music, costumes and cars that came out that year. So I was looking to get this timeless quality to the film across the board to where you weren’t sure when it was.”

Refreshingly, Clarkson’s film opted to do away with the Marvel custom of including a stinger for a future movie or project. 

“It was about telling a great story. My father always used to say, ‘If you have to say something, stand up, speak up and then shut up,’” Clarkson shares. “So when I got to the end credits, I felt that we’d said everything we needed to say in the film.”

Madame Web is not Clarkson’s first brush with Marvel, as she previously directed the first two episodes of both Jessica Jones and The Defenders, which originally resided on Netflix, alongside Daredevil, Luke Cage and Iron Fist. All five series purported to take place in Marvel Studios’ Marvel Cinematic Universe, however, Kevin Feige and co. always distanced themselves from these projects since they were spearheaded separately by Jeph Loeb at Marvel Television. 

The situation would then change drastically over the last handful of years, as Netflix canceled all of its Marvel shows, which eventually sent the rights back to Disney. Marvel Studios’ original intention was to do a soft reboot of the former Netflix universe by selectively including specific characters, such as Charlie Cox’s Daredevil and Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. However, when their new Daredevil series, Daredevil: Born Again, underwhelmed execs during early reviews of footage, Feige’s team pivoted to treating all of these former Netflix shows as MCU canon, which is music to Clarkson’s ears.

“Wow, that’s pretty amazing. It’s not horrible to hear that, for sure. It’s alright, yeah. I felt very lucky,” Clarkson admits. “Jessica Jones was the first time I dipped my toe into the Marvel world, and I absolutely loved it. So I hope it lives on for her and for Krysten [Ritter], who’s a wonderful actor.”

Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Clarkson also discusses how challenging it was to shoot Cassie’s clairvoyance along with the reality of each scene that she’d try to influence.

So if I drove a DeLorean back to the start of your career in the early 2000s and told you that your feature debut would someday be in a Spider-Man-adjacent universe, there’s no chance you’d believe me, right?

Well, first of all, I’d say, “Where’d you get that DeLorean? Let’s go for a ride.” It’s a very cool car and [Back to the Future] was an amazing movie, but no, I wouldn’t have believed you. I would have thought you were crazy. 

If people look at your filmography, they might think that it’s a big leap to go straight from television to a big-budget film like this, but you did direct a massive pilot [Game of Thrones prequel, Bloodmoon] a few years ago. Even though it didn’t work out, are you glad that you shot something on a large scale before jumping into Madame Web?

Every experience I’ve had to date has led me to this moment. I’ve done over a hundred episodes of television, and I’ve helmed miniseries as well, doing all four, five, and six parts, which in themselves feel like you’re making two or three massive features. That’s [as many as] six hours of filmmaking that I was helming, and I would say that everything I’ve done has led to this moment, really. It has all given me the foundation from which to leap.

It’s more difficult than it should be for female directors to transition from TV into features, and I’m assuming it took you a long time since you were once in development on Star Trek 4 and who knows what else. Were there days where you came close to running out of patience for a feature to get going?

Everything is tough to get going in many ways. There’s so much content out there, but yet, it feels like everything you make is a miracle. Everything can be so difficult. But, of course, as you go along the way, there are times when you’re frustrated. So I just hope that the right project comes along at the right time, and I trust fate and intuition.

I feel a great deal of existential dread because of the fact that movies set in 2003 are now considered to be period pieces. What made you and your collaborators place this story in that particular year?

(Laughs.) Well, I was sent the script with 2003 in it, and like you, I remember someone saying to me, “Hey, 2003 is vintage.” And I was like, “What do you mean? I remember 2003. I lived 2003. Does that make me vintage?” So, apparently, yes, we are vintage, but it’s back in. We should run with it.

The soundtrack has a number of beloved ‘90s needle drops. Do you think that’s what led to the mistaken belief or rumor that the film was set in the ‘90s? 

I don’t know, maybe, although some of [the needle drops] are on the edge of 2003. So I think it’s about the mix. When you look at making something in a specific year, I always think it’s dangerous to just have all the music, costumes and cars that came out that year. If you look out there now, not everybody is driving something from 2024 or wearing the latest fashion. I know my wardrobe is dated in parts. It’s now vintage. So I was looking to get this timeless quality to the film across the board to where you weren’t sure when it was. For example, Cassie’s jacket. We found that at the last minute, and it was actually based on a vintage 1970s jacket, which felt really cool. [1973] is where the movie starts, and it’s the story that connects to Cassie’s mother. I have to give all credit and props to our tailoring department, who turned that vintage red jacket around overnight. So it was nice to get a timeless feel to it.

I have to give you and/or your casting director credit (Victoria Thomas) for the inspired casting of Kerry Bishé as Dakota Johnson’s character’s mom in 1973. There’s a resemblance, of course, but they can both intimidate with the best of them.

(Laughs.) I’m so glad you brought Kerry up because she’s the heartbeat of the movie, and without that story, you don’t really get to understand fully who Madame Web is. And yes, there’s a similarity. They’re both these wonderfully spirited women and brilliant actors with breadth and depth that certainly lent itself to this. So, for DJ to play Madame Web and for Kerry to come in and play her mom, what a gift.

So how complicated was it to shoot all these different variations of scenes in order to account for Cassie’s visions and then the reality that actually plays out?

Yeah, it was a challenge. I was like, “We’re going to have to shoot these scenes three times, right? We’re going to need three times the amount of time,” to which I got a “no.” (Laughs.) So I had to be quite meticulous in the planning. Most of the clairvoyance was done in camera, in terms of me creating that effect with the diopter. It was often shooting with Dakota and explaining what was happening. She, at times, wasn’t seeing what was happening in the direction, so we’d have to do that separately, especially when there were stunts. So it was quite challenging. I’ve never had call sheets and sides with more notes on them in my entire career.

For moments that repeat such as Ben (Adam Scott) tending to Cassie on the back of the ambulance or Mary’s (Emma Roberts) baby shower, did you ever have the actors repeat within the same continuous take? 

No, we didn’t do that. We would often take a break, and then pick up and go back. We actually stuck to the same take each time, and it was only after the moment that we would then pick up afresh. So there would usually be an edit in the scene somewhere to be able to use exactly the same take. If you ever go back and look at it, it is exactly the same footage. It’s the same repeat except for whatever changes. That’s the only thing that’s different.

In Unbreakable, Bruce Willis’ character could see visions of someone’s past misdeeds, and M. Night Shyamalan drained the color out of those high-angle, surveillance-like sequences, except for the perp’s clothing. What films informed the way you presented Cassie’s future visions? 

I used a lot of different films as references, and one that I looked at a lot, atmospherically, was Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. I liked the way the color red popped in that movie, as well as that sort of tone and some of those cuts. Now, obviously, ours is quite different, but I love the tonality and atmosphere that he created. I also looked at things like Inception. I even looked at In the Mood for Love and Wong Kar-wai’s use of color. So there were a lot of references for [Madame Web] without a doubt. 

Anya’s (Isabela Merced) immigration-related backstory is quite tragic, and I couldn’t help but view it through today’s lens. Even though this story is set in 2003, I presume you were commenting on the same concerns and threats that exist right now? 

We wanted it to feel, as I said, timeless, and that some of those things are universal. They don’t go away. They are still present. Some of the same issues keep coming back, and we haven’t moved on in some ways.

I want to thank you for not including a mid-credit scene. In general, I’ve grown so weary of post-credit scenes that often lead to nowhere, at least in recent memory. Was it important to you to just tell a satisfying, close-ended story on its own terms?

Yeah, it was about telling a great story. My father always used to say, “If you have to say something, stand up, speak up and then shut up.” So when I got to the end credits, I felt that we’d said everything we needed to say in the film. It’s up to whatever is next to take on the button.

This is not your first go-round with a Marvel-related project, as you previously directed the first two episodes of both Jessica Jones and The Defenders. Were you surprised to learn that your work is now officially regarded as MCU canon? 

Wow, that’s pretty amazing. It’s not horrible to hear that, for sure. It’s alright, yeah. I felt very lucky. Jessica Jones was the first time I dipped my toe into the Marvel world, and I absolutely loved it. It was a big part of my TV history. So I hope it lives on for her and for Krysten [Ritter], who’s a wonderful actor.

I always noticed how much attention Jessica Jones gave to doors, be it doors opening and closing, or shots through doors or with doorways clearly visible in the frame. Did you purposefully establish that visual motif? Was that your brain child?

(Laughs.) Yeah, Jessica is always trying to get out the door or trying to back away from the door. She always wants to know where the door is. So, yes, thank you for noticing. There were a lot of doors and door-to-door cuts. There was a lot of that. 

You shot extensively in New York for those shows, so if anyone can shoot Boston for New York, it’s you. But when the Massachusetts Film Office was informed that Madame Web would be shooting Boston for New York, did they roll their eyes a little bit since New York and Boston have a rivalry of sorts? 

(Laughs.) Well, thankfully I wasn’t the one that had to go and tell them. That was above my pay grade, so I’d probably ask Sony about that one. But, no, they were incredibly welcoming. Boston is a beautiful city, and Boston looks like Boston, but there are parts of it that are very reminiscent of New York. So we were able to definitely pull from that. The docks were the first thing that I saw in Boston that reminded me of Red Hook, New York back in the day, so we were very lucky to be able to shoot there. 

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Madame Web opens in theaters nationwide on Feb. 14.