This summer, Jared Leto trades the Joker makeup for vampire fangs, DC for Marvel (or rather, Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters), and a twisted life of crime for a the life of a tortured anti-hero in Morbius.
Morbius is a lesser-known Marvel character — aka one that falls under Sony’s mantle — a scientist who has vampire-ish powers like superhuman strength, hypnosis, and echolocation but is not actually a vampire. You can thank the 1971 Comics Code for that: strict censorship rules only allowed for vampires (and other monsters of the like) that were “handled in the classic tradition such as Frankenstein, Dracula, and other high calibre literary works.” The character is particularly known for his appearance in the 1990s show Spider-Man: The Animated Series.
The movie-version of Morbius continues the “vampire, but not really” thing. Dr. Michael Morbius ends up with vampiric abilities after seeking a cure for his rare blood disease, which catches the attention of the FBI for some reason (probably the whole, like, sucking blood thing). Adria Arjona (Good Omens) stars as Dr. Morbius’ fiancée Martine, with Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Dr. Morbius’ buddy Loxias Crown who has the same blood disease. No word yet on whether Eddie Brock or another Venom character makes a cameo.
Morbius is set to premiere in theaters on July 31.
