WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Morbius, in theaters now.
Reviews have not been kind to Jared Leto's adaptation of Morbius. Like its Sony stablemate the Venom series, Morbius has been savaged by critics but found a more receptive audience among moviegoers. Even that's relative, though, as its 70% positive audience rating is somewhat tepid compared to more popular superhero movies, which are typically around 90% amongst fans.
While taste is subjective, there's a convincing argument to be made that being a cog in Sony's Spider-Man Universe kept Morbius from living up to its potential. Instead of being yet another superhero origin story with some horror movie seasoning that exists mostly to set up a future film, the character of Dr. Michael Morbius would have been better suited to a different medium and a different blend of genres altogether.
Instead of an awkward mix of the superhero and horror genres, Morbius could have succeeded as a medical drama with supernatural influences. Being shoehorned into the "superhero movie origin story" formula sidelined the most interesting part of Morbius' character: he's a genuinely committed doctor who cares about his patients... who also happens to be struggling with encroaching vampirism.
"Vampire Doctor" seems like an irresistible elevator pitch for television, which is stuffed with shows about doctors. But somehow, "House, but he's addicted to blood" hasn't been the inspiration for a supernatural hospital drama. Morbius would be the perfect character to realize the potential of this genre mash-up. The challenge of balancing his need for blood with his literal life-or-death work in the hospital would create a storytelling engine that could power seasons of television.
The bond that Morbius formed with his young patient Anna is an example of something that would have worked better in television than it did in the movie. While it reflected the affecting scenes of Morbius and his best friend turned nemesis Milo's childhood, Morbius' insistence on fitting the superhero movie mold meant it couldn't focus on the good doctor's bedside manner. A TV series could offer more of a balance between Morbius' work as a doctor and his evolution into a supernatural vigilante. Allowing him to gradually transition into the role of a different kind of dark knight would be a better way of introducing the character to a wider audience than the rush job the movie had to undertake.
Cramming Morbius' origin story into a two-hour run time, which also had to include some world-building for a burgeoning superhero cinematic universe, didn't do the story any favors. Characters like Tyrese Gibson's Simon Stroud were poorly served in the movie's final cut. A full season of television or even a miniseries would allow more characters than Morbius a chance to shine. Stroud's presence would add some police procedural elements to the mix as well.
A Morbius series that gave equal weight to the doctor part of "Vampire Doctor" might seem like an odd fit, but a genre mashup isn't uncommon in superhero comics. It's about to become a big part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the upcoming She-Hulk series, which is expected to lean into the comedic aspects of the source material, including an appearance by Howard the Duck. Even the recent Spider-Man trilogy combined super-heroics with classic teen movie tropes.
Given that Sony is focused on establishing its Spider-Man Universe, a Morbius television series was unfortunately never on the table. Such a project is not as compelling an argument for Marvel Studios gaining full control of the Spider-Man license as the idea of integrating the full range of Spider-Man characters into the MCU, so there was no reason for something that substantial to even be considered. Morbius isn't as popular a supporting character as Venom or Carnage.
That said, it's still a shame that Morbius was shoehorned into an ill-fitting format in the character's live-action debut. The idea of a vampire doctor might make it to television without featuring a living vampire. It's a shame that he didn't the opportunity to live up to his full potential in a more hospitable medium. Had he gone the TV route, he would have gotten a much better reception.