It’s been almost two years since Sony’s Marvel movie Morbius was originally set to be released in theaters, and it still hasn’t seen the light of the day. Initially scheduled to be released in July 2020, Morbius was delayed seven times, and it’s currently set to be released on April 1, 2022. Let’s hope that’s final, like the “final” final date.
The movie has been delayed several times due to the pandemic of COVID-19 and Sony’s stubbornness to release movies exclusively in theaters, while other studios, like Warner Bros. and Disney, found some alternative options with their streaming services once it became obvious that the pandemic won’t end so soon after it first struck. But still, Sony kept delaying their movies, and they finally released Venom: Let There Be Carnage last October, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which grossed the outstanding $1.8 billion worldwide, despite the pandemic.
When No Way Home was released, Morbius was scheduled to be released on January 28, 2022, which is roughly one month after the release of No Way Home. But soon after the No Way Home’s release, Sony delayed Morbius once again, and no one is sure what was the reason this time. But there are three possible reasons: it’s either an omicron variant of COVID-19, additional reshoots that needed to be done to fit the movie into the timeline of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (let’s remember that this movie was supposed to be released long before Venom 2 and No Way Home), or because No Way Home’s success was so gigantic that Sony didn’t want to release another blockbuster so quickly.
Whatever the reason was, it seems like we will finally watch that movie in theaters soon (if someone still cares for it, that is). But ever since the movie was first revealed, there’s been a rumor that Spider-Man might appear in the movie, and that rumor resurfaced again after it was reported that some additional reshoots were done after the release of No Way Home. Some fans wanted to believe that one of the Spider-Man actors might continue to be part of the Marvel Multiverse. That was never confirmed, and here’s how Morbius star Jared Leto commented those rumors:
“Well… I would love to get in the ring with Spider-Man. I think Tom Holland is amazing, and we’d make quite a dynamic duo, I guess.” — Jared Leto for Entertainment Tonight
This is a pretty vague answer. Leto expressed his wish, but he never actually said that Spider-Man might be part of this movie. One thing that is for sure, Michael Keaton will reprise the role of Adrian Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming, and it will be really interesting to see how the movie will explain that following everything that happened in No Way Home, which now created a lot of potential and plot-holes for Morbius.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa, and starring Jared Leto in the titular role, Morbius will be the third official movie of Sony’s Spider-Man franchise. It is set to be released on April 1, 2022.
