Johnson’s confession, a clip from an interview with Magic FM, is circulating on social media, with some interpreting her choice not to watch the movie as indifference. After all, the actor is known to bring a blasé yet charming attitude to her interviews.
But Johnson’s resistance to seeing herself onscreen stems from elsewhere.
“For me, it’s a way to not have, like, an existential crisis,” Johnson said in her Magic FM interview. “Not watching my movies is like self-care.”
At premieres, she said, she’ll grace the red carpet, then go to dinner.
As for “Madame Web,” “I don’t know when I’ll see it,” Johnson said, trailing off. “Someday.”
“Madame Web,” based on a Marvel Comics heroine of the same name, stars Johnson as a New-York based paramedic named Cassie Webb. Cassie develops psychic abilities following a near-death experience, then learns she must use her newfound powers to protect three girls (Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced and Celeste O’Connor) being chased by a villain named Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim).
Just as Cassie is a guardian angel-type, Johnson herself has become a “big sister” to Sweeney, Merced and O’Connor, her co-stars said.
Johnson takes their sentiment both as an honor and a slight.
“I’m older than them, and they make sure that I’m aware of that,” she told E! News, adding that her co-stars have a group chat without her — which the three admitted to, but not without clarifying that it’s no reflection of how they view Johnson.
Johnson poked fun at the trio again during a Feb. 7 appearance on “Late Night With Seth Myers.”
“I love them, and they annoy me, and I love them,” she said, protesting, “I’m not that much older than them.”
Still, Sweeney told E! she was a bit star-struck when she met Johnson for the movie.
“I was so excited. I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a lot younger,” the “Anyone but You” actress said, adding that she “might have snuck” into a showing of 2015’s “Fifty Shades of Grey” — Johnson’s breakout gig — against her parents’ wishes.
Johnson insisted to E! that, despite having a few more years in the business than Sweeney and the others, she didn’t need to give them any pointers.
“She’s such an amazing actress,” Dakota said of Sweeney, “and really has such an incredible work ethic.”
With just over a $6 million opening and a Rotten Tomatoes score of 14%, it’s unclear whether “Madame Web” will see a sequel.
But if Johnson is asked to come back, she will, she told GamesRadar+ and the Inside Total Film podcast.