What will the live-action version of Morbius, the Living Vampire, look like? Fans will discover their answers on Monday, January 13. On that date, Sony releases the long-awaited trailer for the film. Details about the Jared Leto project remained somewhat secretive. Sony, like other studios, prefers to time information about projects, so details arrive closer to the release date. Since Morbius hits screens on July 31, 2020, the time is right for a teaser trailer. Expect a more extended Morbius trailer to arrive later in the year.
Tyrese Gibson, one of the stars of Morbius, made the revelation about the trailer drop on social media. Buzz now starts to roll regarding what the trailer shows. Will the film follow the tone of Venom, or will it present a different approach?
On his Instagram post, Gibson includes a drone-captured video of someone shooting a flamethrower. Is this intended as a hint as to what villains appear in the Morbius film? Perhaps at 9 AM eastern, the public will discover what the flamethrower suggests. At that time, the trailer goes live online.
Morbius represents the third Spider-Man spin-off film for Sony. Venom surprised the industry with its more than $800 million worldwide gross. The animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse sold hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets, too. Morbius could become a giant hit, as well. The film not only draws from the popularity of superhero movies, but the recent increased interest in horror films could help it, too.
And Jared Leto would feel thrilled if Morbius launched a new franchise as Venom did for Tom Hardy. Hardy expected to see franchise success with Mad Max and Suicide Squad. The former underperformed at the box office, and he bowed out of the latter when his role suffered reduced scenes.
Morbius becomes Jared Leto’s other high-profile superhero role. Previously, he played the iconic Joker in DC Entertainment/Warner Bros.’ Suicide Squad. The film was a financial hit, but fans and critics didn’t rave about it. Margot Robbie’s performance as Harley Quin did win her accolades. Leto’s decent performance as The Joker, however, suffered from a weak script, extensive post-production editing, and several cut scenes. The DC Extended Universe’s plans for the “Leto Joker” could be up in the air since the public now associates Jaoquin Phoenix so strongly with the character. The recent Birds of Prey trailer even slightly hints that Harley Quinn killed off the DCEU Joker.
If Morbius proves to be a hit, Leto probably won’t miss the Joker role.