The theatrical industry is still struggling to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic, a full two years after the first wave of COVID-19 brought the industry to its knees. However, as has been the case for the last 20 years and change, comic book adaptations have been able to put butts in seats around the world regardless of the circumstances.
As cinema’s most lucrative, marketable, and bankable genre, it’s absolutely no coincidence that five of the nine highest-grossing Hollywood productions to be released during 2021 all came slapped with Marvel branding. That being said, the fate of Jared Leto’s upcoming Morbius remains in the air.
Venom, sequel Let There Be Carnage, and Spider-Man: No Way Home have gotten Sony’s shared universe off to a great start, but the Living Vampire is an altogether different proposition. Leto has always been a polarizing figure among audiences, Morbius doesn’t hold much name value, and the trailers haven’t set the world on fire.
On the plus side, the Academy Award winner revealed to Variety that he’s already got a ready-made excuse should his latest stab at playing a pale-faced comic character go sideways.
“If it doesn’t work out, we have a good excuse. We waited too long. It’s time. I feel ready for the challenges that come along with this sort of thing. I have perspective and balance now that I don’t think I had when I was younger. I’ll never regret taking a swing.”
He does have a point, though, with Morbius originally penciled in for July 2020 before being constantly shuffled down the calendar. The moment of truth is only two weeks away, but we’ve got no idea how it’s going to turn out for the first entry in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe that doesn’t have a British leading man named Tom to rely on.