Be honest: Had you ever heard about Morbius before Sony announced its plans for a live-action adaptation? There’s no shame in not knowing who he was in Marvel’s comic book universe. Morbius has had a few comic book series of his own, but he’s rarely been a headlining character. However, Morbius’ connection to Spider-Man is the reason why Sony has the rights to produce this non-MCU Marvel movie. And ahead of the film’s final trailer, Sony Pictures is explaining Morbius’ history for the uninitiated.
Jared Leto hosts the new Lore of Morbius video, since he stars in the film as Dr. Michael Morbius, a man stricken with a rare blood disease. Morbius’ diagnosis is terminal, but the cure he finds may be far worse than the disease. Because now Morbius has a vampire’s thirst for blood, and many of the powers associated with the children of the night.
However, the key distinction that allowed Morbius to make his debut in 1971’s Amazing Spider-Man No. 101 is that he is a “living vampire.” Writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane came up with that twist in order to get by the Comics Code Authority’s restrictions against supernatural characters appearing in comics. Those restrictions were later lifted, but Morbius’ unique origin was retained because it made him stand out from Dracula and other vampires. Morbius at least had the hope of reclaiming his former life, since he never actually died in the first place.
Adria Arjona co-stars in the film as Morbius’ fiancée, Martine Bancroft, with former Doctor Who star Matt Smith as the film’s villain, Loxias Crown. Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal play FBI agents Simon Stroud and Alberto Rodriguez, respectively. They’ve been given the task of hunting Morbius down, which is easier said than done.
Morbius will hit theaters on April 1. A new trailer will premiere on Monday, February 28.
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