Jared Leto seems to be making a bold attempt to take over the world of superhero villains. Having already portrayed the Joker in Suicide Squad (and set to reprise the role in Warner Bros.’ upcoming films), the actor has now signed on to star in the title role of Morbius, Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff that will focus on the vampiric villain from the comics.
This is the latest Spider-Man spinoff Sony has put together as part of their Spider-Man universe that is currently sans the webslinger himself. Venom arrives in October, while Silver & Black and Nightwatch are also in development. Morbius will be helmed by Daniel Espinosa (Safe House), and will be written by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (Lost In Space).
This will likely be a controversial hire as Leto’s depiction of the Joker has divided audiences, and his attempts at method acting have often rubbed people the wrong way. It’s interesting that Sony would want an actor currently playing a superhero villain for a rival studio for their own superhero cinematic universe.
Perhaps they feel that Morbius isn’t a household name and feel the need to cast a big name in the role, which is fair enough, but there are likely a glut of big name actors out there who would have loved to take on the role of a former award-winning biochemist who becomes imbued with vampiric superhuman abilities and physical traits thanks to a failed experiment.
The character first appeared in a Spider-Man comic in October 1971, and many of his appearances revolves around his struggles with his inhuman-like vampiric persona, his insatiable lust for human blood, and his subsequent efforts to cure his horrific condition, along with his eventual stint as a brutal and nightmarish vigilante.
There are no details yet on what the film adaptation will focus on, but expect something similar to the paragraph above. Sony are putting the pieces in place for a potentially intriguing cinematic universe, but people said that about the DCEU too, so we will wait and see. We’ll get our first glimpse of their vision when Ruben Fleischer‘s Venom hits cinemas Friday, October 5.
#Peace.Love.Morbius
