Sony is said to be currently working on a film based on Morbius, the Living Vampire, a Marvel Comics antihero who first appeared in an issue of Amazing Spider-Man during the 1970s. The Hollywood Reporter says that movie, currently titled Morbius, will focus on the vampire-like character for one of the spin-off movies based on the Spider-Man franchise.
Morbius development is said to have been kept a secret. Writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, who have worked on Power Rangers, Dracula Untold and … uh, Gods of Egypt, submitted a script to Sony recently.
Morbius is short for Dr. Michael Morbius, a man suffering from vampiric abilities and physical traits resulting from a biochemical experiment, as opposed to supernatural means. The character has appeared in various animated shows and video games.
Morbius appeared in Marvel Comics like Vampire Tales and Adventure Into Fear in the 1970s, and later in stand-alone comic series published in the early ’90s and ’10s. Morbius was later re-imagined as a more traditional vampire in Marvel’s Ultimate universe, which has served as a source of inspiration for the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. It’s not clear which interpretation of Morbius Sony will be using for its movie.
Sony already has a couple movies based on Spider-Man characters in development, including Venom, focusing on the web-slinger’s longtime foe, and one based on Black Cat and Silver Sable titled Silver and Black. Those movies, and presumably Morbius, reportedly won’t directly connect to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe continuity.
As of now, there is no information about the release date of the movie. Venom is due October 5th, 2018, while Silver and Black is targeting a February 8th, 2019 debut.
