A TikTok video on Sony's Daily Bugle account sets up Jared Leto's character in upcoming movie, Morbius. This is the first time that Morbius the Living Vampire will be seen outside of the comics and on a big screen. Joining Venom in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), Dr. Michael Morbius is a classic Spider-Man villain who stumbles into superpowers after trying to cure his debilitating blood disease. Through the years, Morbius' story jumped back and forth between scientific and supernatural explanations for his powers.
Mirroring Peter Parker's science background and tech-enhanced abilities, Dr. Morbius is a kind of inverse whose experiments didn't turn out as pretty as Parker's, the worst result being Morbius' constant need to consume blood. This juxtaposition sets up Morbius as a great thematic villain for any MCU crossovers with Tom Holland's Spider-Man, given that both characters have partially transformed into animals, and Morbius just happened to be less lucky in his list of inherited traits. Leto jumped at playing the Morbius role, excited at its transformative nature and the fact of it being the theatrical debut of a new Marvel villain.
On a Sony-run TikTok account called The Daily Bugle, that posts mock Daily Bugle reports from within the fictional world, social correspondent Nicque Marina sets up the premise and background for Leto's Dr. Michael Morbius. Marina describes Dr. Morbius as the director of Horizon Labs and the inventor of synthetic blood. Marina points out that an invention like that could either be incredibly useful or a disaster. The faux Bugle reporter also mentions that Dr. Morbius rejected prestigious awards from the scientific community, presumably for his blood invention.
While Morbius is the first featured vampire from the Marvel comics to join the SSU and MCU, he won't be the only one for long. Blade is getting rebooted with Mahershala Ali playing the character following Wesley Snipes' rendition that ended in 2004 with Blade: Trinity. The Marvel backstory on the origins of vampires is one that has already been hinted at in the MCU through its referencing of the Dark Hold, a book of supernatural origins. In the larger Marvel lore, the Dark Hold was created by an ancient God who also created the first vampires. Fans have already seen the Dark Hold in Agents of SHIELD and WandaVision, which suggests that future MCU content will push into more occult themes and explore the realm of magic.
The upcoming release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will likely expand the spooky side of Marvel cinema and create a larger context for characters like Morbius, Blade and The Scarlet Witch post-WandaVision. With Multiverse of Madness billed as the first horror flick within the MCU, the direction is getting decidedly more dark and supernatural. Oscar Isaac's upcoming Moon Knight series also fits into this category with origins in Egyptian mythology. Even if Morbius focuses on the scientific angle with his transformation, the vibe will inevitably be one of the occult. With the frontiers of cutting edge technology thoroughly explored via Tony Stark and Wakanda's brilliant scientist Shuri, it's a welcome shift in tone that lets Marvel fans enjoy a stroll in the world of witches and sorcerers. Some have pointed out that Marvel's Morbius needs an R rating to let it get sufficiently scary, but clever writing and filmmaking can hopefully give the story everything it needs.
Source: The Daily Bugle/TikTok
