Actor Jared Leto plays the titular role in Sony Pictures' latest Marvel movie Morbius, and according to director Daniel Espinosa, it was more than just a matter of finding a suitable actor to bring this vampire to life.
"Jared Leto was the only actor that could really play the part of Morbius. That wasn't really a choice – it was predestination," Espinosa said in a production release from the studio.
Morbius is the third film set in Sony's Spider-Man universe and joins the Spider-Man and Venom movies. It tells the story of Dr. Michael Morbius (Leto) who suffers from a rare and debilitating blood disease. When Morbius attempts to cure his disease, he is left with a form of vampirism that gives him the superhuman abilities of a vampire, but none of the famous vampiric weaknesses. It does leave him, however, with a thirst for blood, leaving Morbius with a lasting struggle to deal with his hunger.
Despite his hunger and moniker as The Living Vampire, Espinosa doesn't believe that Morbius is a bad guy. "Michael Morbius is one of the most altruistic characters of the Marvel Universe," he said. "He's one of the few that really believes in good. This good man has a horrible disease, and in his trials to save himself and the people that he cares for, he turns into a monster."
It's this transformation into a monster that appealed to Leto when he decided to take on the role. The actor has a reputation for being "method" and transforming into the characters he plays, and he found aspects of this in Morbius. "I'm attracted to roles where there's an opportunity to transform – physical transformation, but also mental, emotional, any and all," Leto explained. The discovery of Morbius' new powers, such as his increased strength and speed, and how to implement that into his performance also appealed. "And he can use echolocation – how to do you translate that into a performance, the ability to see using your sense of hearing?" said Leto.
Morbius also stars Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, Jared Harris as Morbius' mentor, and Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson as the FBI Agents trying to track the living vampire down. Adria Arjona also stars as Dr. Martine Bancroft, a fellow scientist and Morbius' fiancée. For her role, Arjona says she used congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as inspiration. "I remember seeing an interview with AOC and thinking, everything about her is Martine," explained Arjona. "She's youthful, she’s fun, she cares about the way she looks, but she cares even more about what goes into her brain."
Morbius will be in theaters on April 1.
Source: Sony Pictures