After one of most protracted release date schedules in cinematic history, Morbius will finally land in theaters in April – and Sony has released one last trailer to celebrate.
The Spider-Man spin-off movie, which was originally set for release in July 2020, has been delayed six times due to the ongoing pandemic. Now, though, the Jared Leto-starring comic book flick is ready to fly into theaters, with Sony releasing one final teaser to whet our blood-soaked appetites for its arrival.
Check out Morbius' final trailer below:
Morbius' newest trailer is packed with material we've previously seen in other teasers, but there are some intriguing new snippets of footage. Namely, how it ties into Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Cast your mind back to its first trailer, which landed way back in January 2020, and you'll remember that Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture made a surprise cameo in the final few seconds. His curious appearance lit up the internet, with many observers wondering how Morbius fits into both cinematic universes, particularly as Vulture was the main villain in Spider-Man: Homecoming, aka the webslinger's first MCU movie.
Now, though, it seems that Vulture will try to manipulate Morbius into becoming a supervillain, with Toomes telling Morbius "it's time to let go of who you used to be and discover who you really are". Unless the Spider-Man antagonist has had a sudden change of heart over his villainous ways, we suspect he'll be one of those trying to persuade Morbius to join the light or dark side.
As for those of you who need a refresher on Morbius' upcoming film: the supernatural superhero movie stars Leto as Doctor Michael Morbius, a scientist with a rare blood disorder that's slowly killing him. However, after an experimental blood treatment involving vampire bats goes awry, Morbius is granted superhuman abilities – alongside an insatiable thirst for human blood. Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Jared Harris (Foundation), and Adria Arjona (6 Underground) are among the film's supporting cast.
Morbius will swoop exclusively into theaters on Friday, April 1.
Analysis: will Morbius suck at the the box office?
Spoilers follow for Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom.
That's difficult to determine right now.
On the surface, it should be another hit for Sony Pictures. After the huge success of Spider-Man: No Way Home, which massively benefitted from its ties to previous Spider-Man live-action universes, it's clear why Morbius' final trailer leans heavily into its multiverse-led material. Showing Toomes/Vulture off in this latest teaser does just that, and it's sure to lead to plenty more fan speculation online in the lead-up to release.
Sony's other successful Spider-Man spin-off franchise – Venom – is another feather in the studio's cap. The 2018 Tom Hardy-starring film, and last year's Let There Be Carnage sequel, cumulatively earned $1.36 billion at the global box office. Couple that with Sony's desire to create its own MCU style universe with a whole heap of Spider-Man characters – which Sony owns, remember – and it's understandable why movies like Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and Madame Web have been (or are currently being) developed.
The big question, though, is whether there's an appetite among audiences for more Spider-Man spin-offs. And, more specifically in Morbius' case, if anyone's still interested in seeing it.
Given that it was supposed to launch nearly two years ago, cinemagoers may not be as excited for Morbius' arrival. Prior to the final trailer's release, Morbius' previous two trailer only amassed 21 million and 15 million YouTube views respectively. Compare that to Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage's main trailers, which lands 85 million and 48 million YouTube views, and fan anticipation for Morbius clearly isn't as strong as Sony may have hoped.
Then there's the fact that Morbius will be competing with two other potentially heavy hitters for audience attention (and, more importantly, cash) in early April. Harry Potter spin-off Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 are set to release one week after Morbius on April 8, so cinema aficionados may save their money to catch one of those instead. The Batman, which arrives on March 4, will surely still be doing well at the global box office by the time Morbius arrives, too.
Of course, we won't know if Morbius will succeed or fail theatrically until it's actually released. But, with some cinema fans already stating that they'll wait for its video on demand (VOD) or streaming service launch, it's looking increasingly likely that Morbius will struggle to bleed the box office dry.
- Marvel Phase 4: every movie and TV show coming before 2023
