The latest installment in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, Morbius, arrives in theaters April 1, 2022. The film is based on the Marvel Comics series featuring the titular character. Morbius follows Michael, a scientist who battles a rare blood disease. As his condition worsens, he seeks a cure, but his experimental therapy results in extremely unfortunate side effects.
Here is your guide to the cast and characters of Morbius.
Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius
Jared Leto stars as the titular anti-hero, Morbius, based on the Marvel Comics character in Morbius, the Living Vampire. Dr. Michael Morbius suffers from a rare blood disease that's slowly killing him. His search for a cure leads him to an extremely unconventional experiment that, instead of simply healing him, infects him with a form of vampirism. The experiment grants Morbius powers such as heightened senses, flight, quick reflexes, self-healing and enhanced strength, to name a few. However, the powers come with a caveat -- he now has an unquenchable thirst for blood and is disfigured to appear like a frightening mix of a human and a bat. From the looks of the trailer and other media, it seems Morbius' origin story and character will be much in-line with his comic book counterpart.
Leto utilizes method acting for most of his roles but didn't for Morbius, saying he instead drew much from his own personality. A few of Leto's works include Angel Face in Fight Club, Paul Allen in American Psycho, Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream, The Joker in a handful of DCEU films and Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club, a performance that won him an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
Matt Smith as Milo
Milo is Morbius's lifelong friend and colleague who suffers from the same blood disease. And, like Morbius, Milo gains the same vampire-like powers, except he has a lust for power that Morbius doesn't. It's a classic yet devastating friend-turns-against-friend scenario akin to Harry Osborn turning against Spider-Man.
At first, it seemed that Milo was a completely new character not based on one from the comics. But now, it's assumed that he is Loxius Crown/Hunger, the villain in the comics. Loxius and Milo share some similarities -- they both obtain the same powers as Morbius and they both use their abilities for evil. But that's about where the similarities stop. It's also been speculated that Milo is Emil Nikos, another character from the comics. In the comics, Emil is Morbius' lifelong friend, just as Milo is in the upcoming film. It's possible that Milo is a mixture of the two characters.
Milo is played by Matt Smith, known for his roles as The Doctor in the popular series, Doctor Who and Prince Philip in Netflix's The Crown.
Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft
Martine Bancroft is Michael Morbius' fiancée. She's grounded, smart, a leader and strong, and is portrayed by Adria Arjona. The actress says she drew inspiration from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who she says embodies many of Martine's traits. Arjona is known for her roles as Anathema Device in Good Omens, Jules Reyes in Pacific Rim: Uprising and Dorothy Gale in Emerald City.
Jared Harris as Dr. Nicholas
As the owner of a facility that treats those with the titular character's rare blood disease, Dr. Nicholas takes both young Milo and young Michael under his wing, becoming a father figure to both. There doesn't seem to be an exact Dr. Nicholas character in the Marvel comics; however, there is a Dr. Nicholas Bromwell. This Dr. Nicholas first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comic as the Parker family's physician. It's quite possible that Dr. Bromwell served as inspiration for the film's Dr. Nicholas.
Dr. Nicholas is played by Jared Harris, known for his roles as Lane Pryce in Mad Men, King George VI in The Crown and Valery Legasov in Chernobyl.
Tyrese Gibson as FBI Agent Simon Stroud
Not much is known about Agent Simon Stroud's character in Morbius. However, he does have a history in Marvel Comics. He was recruited by the CIA early in his career, where he met Black Widow. The two even became lifelong friends. Stroud's relationship to Morbius in the comics begins with the agent hunting the living vampire, but eventually the two team up along with Martine Bancroft to battle real vampires.
Tyrese Gibson portrays Agent Simon Stroud. Gibson has an extensive music career dating back to 1998 when he debuted his single, "Nobody Else." He's also notable for his roles as Roman Pearce in the Fast & Furious film franchise and Sergeant Robert Epps in the Transformers series.
Al Madrigal as FBI Agent Alberto Rodriguez
FBI Agent Alberto Rodriguez is Agent Stroud's partner who hunts Morbius alongside him. Not much is known about the character as of yet.
Alberto Rodriguez is played by Al Madrigal, a comedian known for his roles as Luis in Night School and Dan in The Way Back. He's also the co-founder of the All Things Comedy network.
Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes
Morbius will be Michael Keaton's second film appearance as Adrian Toomes, AKA the Vulture. He first starred as Toomes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Spider-Man: Homecoming, in which he served as the main antagonist. Toomes was last seen in the film's end credits in prison for his crimes, but seemed to have been inching away from his villainous side, as he defended Spider-Man when another inmate inquired about him.
Morbius will take place in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, but Keaton's Adrian Toomes is from the MCU, so it can be assumed that the villain does some multiverse hopping, just as Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire's versions of Spider-Man were able to in Spider-Man: No Way Home.
Keaton is known for playing Batman in Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), and Birdman in Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance).