Sony Pictures, the owner of the big-screen rights to Spider-Man and various Marvel Comics characters, has plans for an interconnected universe featuring those characters. The success of Venom in 2018 led Sony to announce that more Marvel Comics-based movies are coming, starting with Morbius, the Living Vampire.

Morbius is Marvel's latest rendition of the antihero figure Dr. Morbius, a biogenetic scientist who has been the antagonist of various superheroes like Spiderman, Ghost Rider, and Blade.

Nobel Prize-winning Dr. Michael Morbius finds a cure for his rare blood disease-but it turns out to be a curse. As he undergoes an experimental treatment, he transforms into Morbius, a pseudo-vampire that possesses supernatural power and an overwhelming appetite for blood. 

As a vampire, Morbius must drink blood to live. As soon as he drinks his victim's blood, his mind will return to normal. However, every time he realizes what he has done, he is troubled with guilt, remorse, and self-loathing.

Morbius takes place in the present day, and it appears that most of the action will take place in and around New York. The most intriguing aspect of the film, though, is the universe in which it is set. While the picture will be a part of Sony's Spider-Man Universe, the MCU links complicate things.

How is the vampire film related to the MCU

 

 

 

 

 

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When Eddie Brock and Venom are shown in the Venom post-credits scene there is a yellow light in the room as it shifts and shows Jonah Jameson, played by J.K. Simmons, discussing Spiderman's identity. This means Eddie and Venom have been transported to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Vulture cameo and the Venom 2 scene also suggest that the two realms are now closer than before. With those two events, it doesn't rule out the possibility of Morbius hanging out with the Avengers in the near future, and suggest a clear link to the MCU.

The entire depth of that relationship will most likely be revealed after Morbius is released on the big screen.

The casts

 

 

 

 

 

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Morbius will introduce a variety of intriguing new characters as well as a familiar face to fans. Here are all of the major characters who have been confirmed for the film:

Jared Leto, who previously played the Joker in DC's Suicide Squad, takes on the role of the living vampire in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Leto revealed in a podcast interview with Variety that this version of Morbius is unlike any other antihero film.

Matt Smith portrays Morbius' friend Loxias Crown, who struggles from the same condition as Morbius. Crown is a comic book villain who is a Hydra agent who becomes a Living Vampire after being bitten by Morbius. In the film, Joseph Esson plays a young Loxias Crown.

Tyrese Gibson plays Simon Stroud, a Morbius-hunting FBI agent with a high-tech arm. Gibson has signed a three-film agreement, so he'll almost certainly return for any sequels. And Alberto Rodriguez, played by Al Madrigal, is another FBI agent on the hunt for Morbius.

Michael Keaton is also set to feature in the film, as shown in the trailers — certainly as his evil Vulture character from Spider-Man: Homecoming. Although we don't know the full details of his appearance, the possibilities of his appearance are fascinating.

Production

 

 

 

 

 

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February 2019, Morbius film began shooting in London. Filming was shifted to Manchester's Northern Quarter in March, which served as a stand-in for New York City. Under the working title Plasma, filming was set to last 12 weeks. It finished in June 2019, with Amy Pascal, the producer of Venom, saying that the project had "just wrapped".

The film's now-customary reshoots started in early February 2020 in Los Angeles and finished a month later when the COVID-19 outbreak shut down production across the U.S. In early 2021, the film underwent a second round of reshoots.

Morbius is directed by Swedish director Daniel Espinosa, and the screenplay is written by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless, who previously wrote for Dracula Untold, another vampire film.

Morbius was supposed to be released in July 2020. However, just like what happened to most films courtesy of the pandemic, its release date was pushed back several times. Now, it is set to premiere in the cinema on January 28, 2022 instead.