Is there any better match of art to artist than the idea of Jared Leto playing a tortured, creative soul shunned by his community simply because he’s also kind of a draining, uber-brooding weirdo? That’s the question we’re forced to contemplate today, as Sony dropped the trailer for Morbius.
Based on the “living vampire” character first introduced as a bad guy in a Spidey comic in 1971, the film’s trailer shows an infirm Leto finding new life (and teeth) via an experimental blood treatment involving many, many bats. Jared Harris, hot off Chernobyl and ready to make some of that Marvel money, co-stars alongside Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Tyrese Gibson, and a familiar face from Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise.
Morbius has never been our most anticipated Marvel property, but bringing back Michael Keaton’s Vulture—likely as Morbius’ gateway into the dark side—has our not-so-Spidey senses tingling. It also signals that Sony’s nascent corner of the Marvel Universe will directly intersect with Marvel’s, which is something of a surprise considering it’s heretofore been unclear how (and if) Venom would grapple with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
Here’s a synopsis:
Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease.
Directed by Life’s Daniel Espinosa, the film sulks into theaters on July 31.