Jared Leto discusses his different vampire inspirations for his role in the upcoming film Morbius. Morbius is a new film from Marvel which tells the story of a biochemist named Michael Morbius, who accidentally infects himself with a form of vampirism while trying to cure himself of a rare blood disease. The film is helmed by Life director Daniel Espinosa, and along with Leto is set to star Matt Smith and Michael Keaton. Morbius is set to be released in theaters (after many delays) on April 1.

Vampires are one of cinema's greatest creatures, and have existed in film since its infancy. From the silent film Nosferatu (which turns one hundred years old this year) to the Twilight films, vampires have seen a wide range of depictions in cinema. Now, it seems, Marvel is taking their turn interpreting the iconic creatures, while also introducing them to the world of superheroes. It seems Morbius will receive somewhat of an antihero treatment similar to their character of Venom.

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In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Leto has discussed his own relationship to vampire characters, and how they influenced his portrayal of Morbius. According to Leto, he has always been a fan of vampire stories. He is a self-professed fan of the novels of Anne Rice which inspired the film Interview with the Vampire. Leto has also admitted that "the black-and-white" Dracula (which starred Bela Lugosi) was one of the first films he ever saw, and sparked his interest in vampires. These, along with the film Hunger starring David Bowie, have all influenced Leto's portrayal of Morbius, according to the actor. See his full quote below:

"You know, I've always loved vampires. I love the Anne Rice novels. One of the very first movies I ever saw was Dracula; that black-and-white Dracula. So, I've always loved that. I love The Hunger with David Bowie, it was a great film not a lot of people have seen. For me, there's something iconic about the opportunity. It's one of the roles that you want to play, so it's great to do a different spin. This isn't exactly a vampire, but some of those qualities are there."

Jared Leto as Dr Michael Morbius in Morbius

Leto has pointed out, however, that Morbius himself is not exactly a vampire, which is true. Vampires are typically depicted as separate creatures from humans, while Morbius is a human who is infected with a disease, which causes him to change. This leaves the character living somewhere between the two worlds of human and vampire, which, of course, is something that all the above films explore in one way or another. It certainly will be very interesting to see how Leto draws on these inspirations to create his new interpretation of this character.

Leto is a self-professed "movie snob", so a Marvel movie does seem somewhat out of character for the actor. However, Leto has expressed that he was drawn to the film because he found Michael Morbius to be a very unique character, and based on his vampire leanings, it is not surprising that he feels this way. Leto is an actor who is known for his drastic transformations as characters, so a vampire struggling to remain human seems right up his alley, and something he seems to be approaching with quite a lot of passion. Luckily for viewers, after a long wait Morbius is right around the corner, and audiences will get to see a new kind of vampire.

More: Morbius' Poster Finally Fixes Its MCU Problem

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