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Morbius’ final trailer asks questions about Leto’s vampire

Since his debut in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 in 1971, Dr. Michael Morbius has been presented as a rare vampire who gained the prerequisite powers and thirst for blood without actually becoming one of the undead. Instead, a scientific accident transformed Morbius into a “living vampire.” However, the final trailer for Sony Pictures’ adaptation of Morbius suggests that there may be more to him than previously thought. In fact, it indicates that Morbius may be a malevolent figure from legend who has come to life.

Jared Leto stars in the film as Michael Morbius, just six years after his turn as the Joker in Suicide Squad. As depicted in the movie and the comics, Morbius suffers from a life-threatening blood disease. That’s why he was desperate enough to experiment with vampire bats for his cure. What Morbius didn’t expect was the vampire bats would infect him and pass on abilities that are seemingly supernatural in nature.

MORBIUS - Final Trailer (HD)

The trailer also plays up the relationship between Morbius and his eventual nemesis, Loxias Crown (Matt Smith). Apparently, Morbius has called Loxias “Milo” since they were children. Loxias and Morbius also share the same blood affliction, which gives both of them a personal stake in the deterioration of their friendship. Now that Morbius has found his power and seemingly saved his own life, Loxias wants that for himself as well.

Jared Leto in Morbius.
Sony Pictures

Another intriguing aspect of this trailer is the presence of Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming. So far, Sony has been very vague about how this film connects to the previous Spider-Man movies. That said, there have been references to both Tobey Maguire and Tom Holland’s Spider-Men, and even a mention by name of Venom. Hopefully, the film will put these questions into context and provide some answers.

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Adria Arjona also stars in the film as Martine Bancroft, Morbius’s fiancée and a fellow scientist. Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson have roles as secondary antagonists even though FBI agents Alberto Rodriguez (Madrigal) and Simon Stroud (Gibson) aren’t evil. Instead, they’re the agents in charge of hunting down Morbius.

Daniel Espinosa directed Morbius from a script by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. It will swoop into theaters on Friday, April 1.

Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
Jared Leto explains the origin of Morbius in new video
Jared Leto lying down and staring up in Morbius.

After his turn as Joker in Suicide Squad, Jared Leto could have been satisfied with playing one of the most iconic comic book characters of all time. But in Morbius, Leto has an opportunity to portray a character who is both the hero and the villain of his own story. Dr. Michael Morbius may not be as famous as the Clown Prince of Crime, but Leto is able recently explained what drew him to the role in a new featurette from Sony.

In the video below, Leto also recaps Marvel's origin of Morbius in broad strokes. After all, some of that material has to be saved for the final film. Regardless, the heart of Morbius' comic book history remains intact in the movie. The antihero suffers from a rare blood disease that claims thousands of lives every year. He is very aware of his own pending mortality when he comes up with a cure that utilizes vampire bats. The good news is that the cure works. Unfortunately, the side effects have transformed Morbius into a living vampire.

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Jared Leto in Morbius.

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.

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Morbius the Living Vampire on the ground in Morbius.

Early next year, Jared Leto is headlining Morbius, the next film in Sony Pictures' Spider-Man adjacent movie universe. And in a new Morbius preview scene, Leto's character, Dr. Michael Morbius, undergoes a startling transformation into a living vampire. As in the comics, Michael is desperately trying to cure his rare blood disease. Unfortunately, the cure may be far worse than the disease.

In the preview, Michael and his fiancée, Martine Bancroft, are prisoners on a ship and under heavy guard. Martine is also a doctor, but even she couldn't have foreseen that Michael's treatment would strip him of his humanity. Michael's transition from human to vampire looks extremely painful. But he has it easy compared to the guards after he unleashes his fangs and claws. Workman's comp probably can't cover those injuries.

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