Sony has their own special thing going on with their Spider-Man cinematic universe. You don’t see Fox building an X-Men universe without the X-Men, do you? Of course not, but that’s what Sony is trying to do while Spidey is off gallivanting with the Avengers as part of the MCU. And they seem to be putting together an impressive lineup of talent in order to make this universe a thing. The latest is Oscar winner Jared Leto who has signed on for their upcoming Morbius the Living Vampire movie.
Leto will star as the Spider-Man supporting character, a scientist named Michael Morbius who is infected by a rare blood disease and tries to cure himself. Instead he gives himself superhuman vampire-like qualities, and uses them as an antihero, albeit a very violent and flawed one. The film will be directed by Daniel Espinosa, best known for Safe House and the recent sci-fi movie Life. He broke out on to the scene with his crime thriller Snabba Cash, and also has the miserable Child 44 to his credit. Lost in Space writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama have finished up the script.
Leto may be on the verge of doing what is affectionately referred to as “Pulling a Brolin”, playing multiple comic book characters for different cinematic universes at the same time. He’ll likely return as his gangsta version of Joker in Suicide Squad 2, and possibly elsewhere within the DCEU. That is unless this new Sony gig is his way of bowing out? It’s not like Warner Bros. has a need for more Jokers at this point.
Add Morbius to Sony’s growing Spidey-verse that already includes Venom, Silver & Black, and proposed films for Nightwatch and Silk. [Variety]
