After a rocky experience with the world of DC Comics, Jared Leto is jumping ship to Sony Pictures to portray vampiric antihero Morbius in its Spider-Man-centric cinematic universe.
The long-delayed action blockbuster is set in the same continuity as Tom Hardy’s Venom movies and follows a genius scientist who inadvertently turns himself into a vampire while seeking a cure for a rare blood condition.
Sony remains keen on making its own Marvel franchise largely independent of the MCU, although notably Morbius does borrow some star power from Spider-Man: Homecoming’s Michael Keaton.
The actor is reprising the role of Vulture here, although the exact circumstances that caused him to arrive in Sony’s separate (albeit adjacent) universe are yet to be explained.
For more details on the Morbius cast, read on.
Jared Leto plays Dr Michael Morbius
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Who is Morbius? Dr Michael Morbius is a genius scientist with a rare degenerative blood condition. With little time remaining before he succumbs to his illness, he resorts to desperate measures in an effort to find a cure. In doing so, he unintentionally transforms himself into a vampire, gaining previously unimaginable levels of strength – as well as a thirst for blood. In the comic books, Morbius was first introduced as part of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery, but in more recent stories he has been depicted as an anti-hero in his own right.
What else has Jared Leto been in? Leto is no stranger to comic book adaptations, having previously played Batman villain The Joker in both 2016’s Suicide Squad and Zack Snyder’s Justice League. He earned an Academy Award for his performance in 2013 factual drama Dallas Buyers Club, while he is also known for roles in Fight Club, American Psycho, Requiem for a Dream, Blade Runner 2049 and, most recently, Ridley Scott’s House of Gucci. In the music business, he is the frontman of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.
Matt Smith plays Milo
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Who is Milo? Milo is the surrogate brother to Michael Morbius, who suffers from the very same blood condition. He too is given vampiric abilities and they send him down a path of villainy, making a stand-off between the two adoptive siblings inevitable. Just as the first two Venom movies have seen Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock fight a fellow symbiotic superhuman, it appears that Morbius will be built around a scrap between two blood-sucking baddies.
What else has Matt Smith been in? Smith shot to stardom when he took over the lead role on Doctor Who from David Tennant, playing the Eleventh Doctor for a three-year tenure. He then moved on to portray a young Prince Philip on Netflix drama The Crown, with later projects including Terminator Genisys, His House and Last Night in Soho. Last year, he made a memorable guest appearance on This Time with Alan Partridge and coming up he has the much-anticipated Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon.
Michael Keaton plays Adrian Toomes / Vulture
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Who is Adrian Toomes / Vulture? Toomes made his first appearance in 2017’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, where we learnt his backstory as a former salvage worker who turned to villainy after being cheated out of business by Tony Stark. He was defeated by Peter Parker aka Spider-Man and sent to prison, not to be heard from again – until now. Morbius director Daniel Espinosa has discussed how Toomes ended up in his film, which isn’t set in the same universe as Tom Holland’s Spidey trilogy.
“At the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home, and in No Way Home itself, it is clearly established that it is possible for characters to transfer from one multiverse to another,” he told CinemaBlend. “The events of No Way Home had the effect of transferring Venom and Vulture (and maybe others) back and forth between the MCU and the Venom Universe.”
What else has Michael Keaton been in? Vulture is not the first winged superhero that Keaton has played, as he is also known for portraying Batman in Tim Burton’s 1989 film and its sequel, a role he will soon reprise in DC’s upcoming flicks The Flash and Batgirl. He also parodied his superhero work in 2014 comedy-drama Birdman, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. More recently, he has starred in feature films The Founder, Dumbo and The Trial of the Chicago 7, as well as acclaimed factual miniseries Dopesick.
Adria Arjona plays Martine Bancroft
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Who is Martine Bancroft? Martine is the fiancé of Dr Michael Morbius and a fellow scientist, whose life is thrown into chaos following his transformation into a so-called living vampire.
“When Martine speaks, people listen. It’s nice to see that in a female character. It’s not just about being pretty or strength or toughness. It’s that she’s the smart one in the room,” said Arjona of her role. “At the same time, she’s very curious and has a big heart – her motivation is always to help others, and she’s the same way with Morbius. She’s constantly taking care of him in a different way than he takes care of her. She learns so much from him, but Morbius’ rock is Martine.”
What else has Adria Arjona been in? Arjona is known for earlier roles in HBO’s True Detective and Neil Gaiman’s Good Omens, while she has also appeared in Netflix original films Triple Frontier, 6 Underground and Sweet Girl.
Tyrese Gibson plays Simon Stroud
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Who is Simon Stroud? Simon is an FBI agent tasked with tracking down Morbius and putting an end to his trail of destruction. The character has a prosthetic arm, which Gibson has hyped up in recent interviews.
“That arm has all kinds of special effects and powers, and that’s going to mess people up when they see this movie,” he told Maxim. “It’s my first time ever officially being a superhero. I’ve done some superhero s**t, but I ain’t never been a superhero.”
What else has Tyrese Gibson been in? Gibson is best known for his long-standing role in the Fast & Furious film franchise, appearing in six entries to date – including last year’s F9: The Fast Saga.
Al Madrigal plays Alberto ‘Al’ Rodriguez
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Who is Alberto ‘Al’ Rodriguez? Al is Simon’s partner at the FBI, who assists in his pursuit of Morbius.
What else has Al Madrigal been in? Madrigal is known for his prior roles in Ben Affleck drama The Way Back and Jim Carrey-produced series I’m Dying Up Here. He collaborated with Marvel Studios on two seasons of web shorts titled WHIH Newsfront, which were shared as part of the promotional campaigns for Ant-Man and Captain America: Civil War.
Jared Harris plays Nicholas Morbius
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Who is Nicholas Morbius? Nicholas is a mentor figure to both Michael and Milo, who runs a facility that provides care to the terminally ill.
What else has Jared Harris been in? On the small screen, Harris has earned acclaim for his roles in Mad Men, The Crown, Chernobyl and The Beast Must Die. He currently stars in Apple TV+ sci-fi drama Foundation.
Morbius is released in UK cinemas on Thursday 31st March 2022. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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