On the heels of last fall's Venom: Let There Be Carnage comes Morbius, the latest installment in Sony's Marvel universe. The film stars Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, who transforms into a vampire as he tries to discover a cure for his illness. Among the supporting cast is Adria Arjona, who plays Martine Bancroft. Daniel Espinosa, who previously helmed Life, directs.
Screen Rant had a chance to interview Espinosa and Arjona about bringing Morbius to the big screen, what could come next for the series, and much more.
Screen Rant: Daniel, I'm curious if this movie has evolved from when you originally began this journey until now. How have things evolved over time?
Daniel Espinosa: First, we shot the movie, and then COVID came. And that really gave us an opportunity. Deep down, all directors always want more time developing their movie.
So, I must say, I'm so excited for it to come out. But I've been so happy to have this time to reflect and work on the movie and finalize the details. It's been a blast. A picture is always evolving, so the time was well used.
Adria, Martine is elevated in this portrayal. She's a doctor and a genius. What was like for you to expand on who she was from the comics?
Adria Arjona: I think I relied on this man a lot. We had AOC conversations; we really drew inspirations from so many things.
I think, sometimes in these movies, women can be overly sexualized. I know it was Daniel's idea, but Danel was very specific on her looking sort of like Sade, aesthetically, and speaking with conviction like AOC. But yet having the tenderness of a doctor that that still has a heart and believes in science.
Those are three qualities that I think really created Martine, and it was very much us two being like, "Oh my God. What are we going to do? What version of her do we want to tell?" And I love her. She speaks with conviction. She's strong, she's tough, she's fearless and has a heart of gold. And those are all qualities that I wish [I had]. I mean, I wish I was a little more like her.
After we watch these movies, we always think, "What's next?" How excited are you about the potential of where things could go, or who she could mix it up with in the future?
Adria Arjona: I think the possibilities are endless, to be quite honest. And I think we're seeing the beginning of that. I'm so excited. Maybe you should call Sony and start pitching your team. Thank you for that. You'll do me a great favor.
Yeah, I'm super excited. I don't know, and I guess I'll find out whenever you find out what will happen in the future.
Daniel, a lot of people want to establish what world we're in. Is there anything you can say about the timeline? Maybe which Spider-Man exists in this world? I know Jared wants to go toe-to-toe with Tom Holland in the future. Have you been able to wrap your head around that?
Daniel Espinosa: No, but I Morbius takes place in what you would call the Sony-Verse. If you remember, when Sony released Spider-Verse, they introduced the idea of different timelines that then later Kevin Feige with Marvel took up. It is an idea that has existed within the studio for a long time.
We are in what some people call the Venom-Verse. But these worlds have endless possibilities of interacting and trading people or information. Who knows what the future will hold?
Adria, not only are you joining the Sony-Verse, but the Star Wars universe as well. What does it mean to be a part of that world?
Adria Arojna: Oh, my God. I think they hired the wrong person, because it's so hard not to share everything.
It's amazing. I can feel already the love and appreciation from the people, and I could feel people welcoming me into both universes. I don't know, it feels really cool. I almost got goosebumps when you said it. I still can't believe it.
Daniel Espinosa: It's crazy. You are such a big star now.
Adria Arjona: Oh, stop it. What was your name again? [laughs]
Daniel Espinosa: Daniel. You used to work with me. I was your director.
If you can, go to Star Wars Celebration, because that is the most electrifying experience.
Adria Arjona: Oh, I'm going!
I literally have a Star Wars tattoo, so I'm so freaking ready.
Adria Arjona: I love it. I was about to get the name of my character tattooed. But as I told Tony Gilroy that, he was like, "Please don't do that. You're gonna tell everybody what your character's name is." I was like, "Oh, right. True, I can't do that."
