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The recently releasedMadame Webhas failed epically, both among general audiences and critics, and surprisingly enough, fans weren’t shocked by the film’s failure. But therewassomething related to the film thatdidend up shocking fans; something related to S.J. Clarkson, the very director who helmed the Dakota Johnson-starrer box-office disaster.
Recently, a fan unearthed a fact about S.J. Clarkson that many other fans are finding hard to believe: The filmmaker has some ties to the HBO masterpiece seriesSuccession. And these ties aren’t related to the cast of the show, but rather, to the directing crew of it, considering how Clarkson helmed an episode of the chef-d’oeuvre!
Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web Ruins the Most Iconic Dialogue From Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man Movie and Director S.J. Clarkson Doesn’t Regret It
S.J. Clarkson, Director ofMadame Web, HelmedSuccessiontoo!
S.J. Clarksonmay have been a fairly new name in the industry that many fans must have heard of only throughMadame Webas its helmer, but the mastermind director has had her fair share of renowned television masterpieces that she has helmed.
Among multiple others, these include previous Marvel projects as well, like 2 episodes ofJessica Jonesand 2 episodes ofThe Defenders(she served as the writer + director on both), both of which were critically acclaimed projects.
However, what amazed fans the most was the fact that Clarkson had also directed the eighth episode, titledPrague, of the first season of HBO’s multiple-Emmy-winning recently ended superhit series,Succession.
This surprise came after a fan (@EmmaTolkin) posted to X a screenshot of director S.J. Clarkson’s name being tied with the very episode ofSuccessionthat introduced fans to the iconic bachelor party thatMatthew Macfadyen‘s Tom Wambsgans had.
‘Madame Web’ Writer Gets Publicly Humiliated After His Last 5 Films Display a Similar Lack of Quality
I’M SORRY. THE DIRECTOR OF MADAME WEB ALSO DIRECTED PRAGUE, THE EP OF SUCCESSION WITH TOM’S BACHELOR PARTY??? HUH?!??????pic.twitter.com/Fbhe97PpPu
— 𝕯𝖎𝖑𝖉𝖔 𝕭𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖘 (@EmmaTolkin)August 01, 2025
The reason why fans are having such stunned reactions to this news is inevitably because most of them can’t believe that the very director who helmed a box-office bomb likeMadame Webwas also the mastermind behind episodePragueinSuccession.
For the record, the S.J. Clarkson-directed andDakota Johnson-starrerMadame Webhas become one of the most critically panned films from Sony and Marvel, and even fans are finding it hard to defend it from the wrath of critics.
Moreover, the film that notably cost more than $80 million to make (as perCBR) has barely crossed the $50 million mark in its worldwide grossing while playing in theatres for almost a week as of this writing, as reported byBox Office Mojo, spelling only one thing for the movie:DOOM.
Fans React to News ofMadame WebDirector Having HelmedSuccession
Following this revelation about S.J. Clarkson, some fans are finding it really hard to believe that the very person who helmed a box office bomb also previously directed an iconic episode of a superhit TV series. Commenting on the X post, here’s what they’re saying:
why is this hard to believe😭
— ☆ (@realonx1)July 06, 2025
https://twitter.com/huntfausts/status/1759924505433235926?s=20
@rosieoshoI can’t believe this
— Charlotte-R (@bingbongwalton)June 15, 2025
“They saw the reactions…and folded”: Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web May be Responsible for Sony Scrapping Upcoming Spider-Man Series Writers’ Room
At the same time, multiple other fans jumped to her defense, because really, everyone knows how little creative control is given to the directors in big-budgeted movies.
Plus, this was the very first propermoviethat S.J. Clarkson directed after all her masterpiece television series’ episodes, so the creators must have held some constraints on her on that level as well. Defending her through this same argument, here’s what other fans are saying:
To be clear I blame Sony for like 90% of this movie not working!!!
— 𝕯𝖎𝖑𝖉𝖔 𝕭𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖘 (@EmmaTolkin)August 05, 2025
She didn’t direct anything. Sony directed the movie and used her as the scapegoat.
— TN (@Nightrade97)Jun 24, 2025
this is how I know Sony directed the movie
— Sam Hernández (@sam_onthemoon)August 02, 2025
They scrapped the original storyline halfway through filming and the studio got involved. It’s not her fault, Sony just sucks.
— Michelle 🍉 🇵🇸 (she/ella) (@MichelleRedSoul)August 09, 2025
It’s an episode of television. Vs a full length IP driven studio meddled with movie. Totes the same.
— thisisappa (@appacuseme)August 23, 2025
I really doubt any of this mess was her fault
— ( . Y . ) (@sike14st)July 31, 2025
From what the current situation reads, while fans were previouslydissing the creators ofMadame Webfor creating such a disaster, after this revelation, they are seemingly appreciating director S.J. Clarkson more and are realizing thatMadame Webwasn’t quite all her fault.
Madame Webis still playing in theatres.
Mahin Sultan
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2478
Mahin Sultan is a Senior Writer at FandomWire, where she brings a fresh perspective to entertainment news. Having been in the field for over 3 years now, she has already written more than 2,000 articles across a variety of niches, from entertainment to health and fashion. This diverse experience has allowed her to quickly build a solid foundation and a deep understanding of the industry.
