Jared Leto might have spent a lot of time trending on social media recently for the sole reason that people were consumed by the desire to share their distaste for the Academy Award-winning actor, but we really hope somebody asks him what he thinks about the Morbius phenomenon next time he gives an interview.
Widely panned by critics, to the extent that it ranks as one of the worst-reviewed Marvel Comics adaptations in history, the Living Vampire’s live-action debut was a chaotic, messy beast that made little to no sense at points, features two of the worst credits scenes of all-time, and was very evidently hacked apart in post-production based on the sheer volume of footage from the early promos that was nowhere to be found in the final cut.
And yet, logging onto social media on any given day will instantly see your timeline bombarded with Morbius-related content. Christian Bale’s Gorr the God Butcher may have stolen some of the limelight away from his pale-faced comic book counterpart after the first full-length Thor: Love and Thunder trailer dropped, but as you can see below, it didn’t last for very long.
Perhaps the most ironic thing about the unexpected craze is that fans would probably reject it outright were Sony to embrace it. Should the studio hypothetically start marketing Morbius on digital or VOD by using the phrase “It’s Morbin Time”, then most folks would agree the shark has finally been jumped.
It’s a very bizarre situation, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t fun to sit back, relax, and see it unfold.