Currently, Sony is hard at work building its very own cinematic shared universe of superheroes tied to Spider-Man. It all began with the studio's Venom, starring Tom Hardy in the title role, whose success was so great that a sequel has already been given the green light. However, Sony isn't stopping there. Actor Jared Leto was also tapped to play Spider-Man villain Morbius, the Living Vampire in his own solo movie that would paint the character as more of an antihero.
Morbius is currently shooting in the United Kingdom and, over the weekend, a picture from the film's Manchester set surfaced online, featuring an intriguing comic book Easter egg.
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The picture features a delivery truck with the company name "Kraven Pastries" written on its side. Of course, Spider-Man fans will instantly recognize this as a nod to another of the wall-crawler's iconic villains: Kraven the Hunter.
On the surface, this appears to be nothing more than a harmless nod to another comic book character with ties to Spider-Man. However, we also have to take into consideration the notion that Sony is also developing a solo Kraven the Hunter film. The project was first confirmed in 2017, and The Equalizer 2 screenwriter Richard Wenk was tapped to pen the film in August 2018.
Now sure, we don't expect the Kraven film to see the character trade his lion mane for an apron, but it's still interesting to wonder if this could be more than an Easter egg. In the comics, Sergei Kravinoff is a man of wealth and means. What if this is just one seed planted for a character whose presence will only grow bigger with more nods and references in other Sony superhero films, until his arrival in his solo film?
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In the comic books, Dr. Michael Morbius is a scientist who is transformed into a vampire-like monster. Although initially a Spider-Man villain, the character would later become a hero in his own right, even going as far as headlining his own Marvel NOW! comic book series, 2013's Morbius: The Living Vampire by Joe Keatinge and Richard Elson.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa (Life) from a script written by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (Lost in Space), Sony's Morbius stars Jared Leto as the titular character, Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft and Jared Harris. The film will hit theaters on July 31, 2020. The solo Kraven film does not yet have a release date.