American Horror Story star Emma Roberts is the latest addition to the cast of upcoming superhero film Madame Web, a Sony-Marvel venture headlined by Dakota Johnson.

The film is being made by Sony Pictures which is developing multiple projects to expand its Spider-Man universe, billed as the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. The Spider-Man Universe revival has already been a success with Venom: Let There Be Carnage making more than $500 million worldwide and Spider-Man: No Way Home becoming the biggest hit in 2021 with $1.85 billion in worldwide sales

According to Deadline, the details about Roberts’ role in the film, her first superhero movie, are under wraps. While it is not known what role Roberts will be playing in the movie, the lead character Madame Web/Cassandra Webb will be essayed by Johnson. The Fifty Shades of Grey actress will be joined by Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O’Connor, Isabela Merced and Tahar Rahim on screen.

The film is set to be an origin story of Madame Webb, the titular clairvoyant mutant who excels in predicting the future of superheroes. She is stricken by a neuromuscular disorder, myasthenia gravis, which leaves her paralysed and connected to a life support system that looks like a spiderweb. Even though she is never seen fighting off villains, she plays an important role as a mentor. The character is known for having mentored not only Peter Parker/Spider-Man but also multiple generations of heroes calling themselves Spider-Woman.

S J Clarkson, who has previously worked on the Marvel series Jessica Jones and The Defenders, is directing the film. Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who wrote the script for Sony-Marvel’s Morbius, are also part of the project as they will write the screenplay for Madame Web. The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on July 7, 2023.

Roberts recently completed production on the upcoming rom-com Maybe I Do, where she stars alongside Diane Keaton, Susan Sarandon and Richard Gere.