Madame Web Breaks Runtime Record

Per sources across the web, some astute film fans have determined that the film will hold the longest run-time of any film in the franchise thus far, clocking in at a whopping 116 minutes.

This makes the film a full eight minutes longer than the last entrant into the franchise, 2022’s Morbius.

While most of the villain-verse films clock in at roughly the same length, each spanning between 97 and 112 minutes, it is shocking to hear that Madame Web will be longer than previous entries and not shorter.

The Sony-produced films have often been critically panned due to their meandering plot and dull scenery. Films in this universe may benefit from some serious runtime slashing.

If Madame Web packed all its greatest moments into a tight 90 minutes, it may have a significant positive impact on its all-but-doomed Rotten Tomatoes score.

Madame Web was written by the screenwriting duo behind Morbius, Matt Sazama, and Burk Sharpless. Morbius is handily the most hated of the four Sony outings that comprise the shared cinematic universe up to this point.

Madame Web could be the chance for the pair to course correct their writing in accordance with audience and critic desires, or cement their already shaky legacy by delivering another dud.

With enough extra time in the final cut for dozens of utterances of “it’s Morbin’ time” fans are already preparing for the worst.

If the extra-long runtime wasn’t scary enough for those wishing Madame Web well, the film’s trailer has already become something of a meme. That’s for the jilted line delivery, clunky dialogue, and ham-fisted backstory presented in the few brief looks at the upcoming film.

Film fans across social media have especially globbed onto the line “He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died” as an example of the film’s expected quality, though some are holding out hope that the line makes more sense in the context of the film.

As it stands, Madame Web is an ancillary character in the comics, never given heaps of backstory to sift through or spectacular adventures all her own.

The character mostly exists to provide crucial details to Peter Parker, or serve as the head of a council of spider-powered individuals.

The film could be an opportunity to reinvent the clairvoyant mutant with a vibrant personality and fascinating dialogue, though stretching the existing material into nearly two full hours of runtime seems like a bad sign.

Of course, the runtime could also be a blessing. 2019’s Avengers: Endgame clocks in at over three full hours and still managed to leave even casual Marvel fans demanding more because the decision-makers behind the film knew exactly what moves would rouse audiences in the theater.

That being said, it is highly unlikely that anyone finds Madame Web as powerful and moving as the 3-hour epic crossover event, which concluded an arc over 10 years in the making.