Matt Smith says he still doesn't fully understand his Morbius villain, Milo, nor does he know whether or not the character is actually supposed to be the Marvel Comics villain Loxias Crown/Hunger.
"The truth is, I wasn't aware of the great big history of the character in many respects," Smith told Screen Rant. "Because the script I was presented with doesn't really delve into the past of him -- or indeed the future. And isn't someone else playing him? It's all a bit confusing to me, to be honest with you. I took as my Bible just the actual script, is the honest truth of it. And it was all a bit odd whether it was Loxias [Crown] or not. I'm still not quite sure, to be honest."
It was first reported in early 2019 that Smith had joined the cast of Morbius, Sony Pictures' next Spider-Man spinoff film, in an undisclosed role. A couple months later, it was reported that the Doctor Who alum would be playing the role of Loxias Crown/Hunger, giving credence to prior speculation. Created by Howard Mackie and John Romita Jr., Loxias Crown is a Spider-Man villain with the same vampiric abilities as Dr. Michael Morbius.
Sony later confirmed that Smith would indeed be playing Morbius' main villain, though revealed that his character's name was actually Milo and that he was a lifelong friend of Michael Morbius (Jared Leto). In fact, Morbius actually gave him the name Milo, as Smith's character was born with the name Lucien. Milo suffers from the same rare blood disease as Morbius, which the latter is seeking a cure fore. Milo ultimately steals the "cure," thus giving himself the same vampiric bloodlust his friend has been cursed with.
"He's a bon vivant, bigger than life, a delight. He's a lot of fun -- even when he's sick, he's still trying to live life to its fullest, squeeze every moment he can every enjoyment possible out of his last time on Earth," Morbius producer Lucas Foster said of Milo, who Sony describes as being the "scion of a very, very, very rich family."
Smith himself added, "They [Morbius and Milo] both get the same power -- one goes one way, and one goes the other way... The lust for more blood, for more feeling, more power -- Milo doesn't shy away from it... The idea that Michael is trying to deny his instincts as this creature is just beguiling to Milo. Why? 'We've spent all our lives hobbling around, feeling second-best. And suddenly we feel like gods. And you're gonna throw it away because that's the good thing to do?'"
The actor continued, "When you look at the great villains, they're allowed to be quite loud as personalities. So I tried to push Milo in that direction... Playing the bad guy is a dream come true -- I'm interested in the bad guys where, at the end of the film, you go, 'I kind of like him.' Don't judge him too harshly. 'Fair enough, mate. You've had a pretty grim life up to now. You enjoy eating the policeman.'"
Morbius releases in theaters on April 1.
Source: Screen Rant