MORBIUS VS THE VIRUS

It pains me to say this, but I want to start this off by letting you know some good news and some bad news, if you haven’t already heard. Thanks to the unfortunate circumstances Covid-19 has presented us with, we have to wait another full year to finally see Marvel’s Morbius on the big screen… WHACK! That said, given this global pandemic there’s obviously much more serious problems than a movie being delayed, but for the sake of keeping things light and on topic I’ll digress.

Now for the good news. This movie is shaping up to be a MAJOR hit. A strong lead like Jared Leto, a solid cast built around him, and a director [Daniel Espinosa] whose career has been trending upwards for some time now. If you haven’t seen his 2017 film “Life”, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds, I’d suggest you go check it out. It’s a sci-fi space horror with a great cast, unique vision, and a thrilling ending (I saw it twice in theaters and I’m not even a big fan of space movies). On top of these pieces all being in place Morbius also has the most important ingredient needed, a badass protagonist with an origins story we’ll be able to feel and connect with.

Something I love about Morbius is that he’s an anti-hero. And since he’s so well known for being an arch enemy of Spider-Man, he almost has to win you over for you to really get behind and root for him. Fans of the comic book series, like myself, will be the first to tell you that’s exactly what he’s going to do. Even if you find yourself rooting against him at times he’s the type of character that you either love or love to hate. Sounds to me like the perfect part for an actor like Jared Leto. He’s had his ups and downs on the big screen, but it’s impossible to deny his talent. Much like Ryan Reynolds with The Green Lantern, the Joker role Leto took on came with its criticisms and likely left a little chip on his shoulder. I might be wrong and it didn’t phase him one bit, but as a fan of his I don’t buy that for a second. He had a unique take on The Joker, but it just didn’t connect with audiences in the way Heath Ledger’s or Joaquin Phoenix’s did.

Some might take that as a knock on him, but to the people on the fence about Jared Leto I give you my word he’s not only one hell of an actor, he’s a perfect fit to play Morbius. Michael Morbius is a scientist who suffers from a rare and untreatable blood disease. He takes matters into his own hands to try and cure himself which leads to him becoming afflicted with a form of vampirism. Morbius obtains all the super human abilities that come with being a vampire, but even better is the fact that he doesn’t obtain any of the weaknesses vampires are usually associated with.

This is where things take off and Michael Morbius has to fight off his thirst for blood in order to be the hero he’s capable of becoming. This may sound like the plot to every other superhero movie, featuring a protagonist who’s faced with adversity and trying to figure out how to overcome it to reach his full potential. But what makes Morbius different is his inner demons pulling him towards being a super villain despite his desire to be the hero. This is rarely the case, but when it comes to Morbius I don’t think this is the type of movie that only super hero and comic book fans will enjoy. It’s gonna be dark, it’s gonna be gritty and you better believe it’s gonna be bloody.

Morbius is set to hit theaters March 19th, 2021 and while the delay really sucks, it’s only fitting that a virus is what stands in Morbius’s way.