Sony strategically delayed Morbius to save the character from the shadow Of Jared Leto’s Joker
Oscar-winning actor, Jared Leto, has had somewhat of a push-pull relationship with the two most popular superhero universes at the moment; the DCEU and Sony Pictures’ Universe of Marvel Characters. Jared played the Joker in the 2016 Suicide Squad movie and is set to reprise his role for the long-awaited Snyder Cut coming out this March. On the other hand, he is playing Living Vampire in Sony’s Morbius that has been now pushed to October 8, 2021 release.
Sony’s push to Jared Leto’s Morbius comes as COVID-19 has kept the theatres shut still. The studio favours a theatrical release over VOD debut. Nonetheless, moving the movie from March To October 2021 also comes as a strategic decision to keep Leto’s two portrayals apart.
Leto’s Joker In Zack Snyder’s Justice League
Scheduled to stream on HBO Max this March the Snyder Cut has officially been termed “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”. It is supposedly the original cut of the movie filmed by Snyder before his departure from the studio back in 2017. After a lot of controversy surrounding the cut recent reports confirm Jared Leto will be reprising his role as the Clown Prince of Crime. While fans will be excited to see him play the titular villain once again, Justice League might be the last time we will see Leto as the Joker again.
Director Zack Snyder recently revealed that the Joker appearing in the Snyder Cut will have a new look altogether. Although Snyder’s knack for switching things up isn’t surprising, his decision to throw The Joker into the mix raised a buzz. “I wanted to, of course, honour what had been created with him,” Snyder said. “Because I thought it was really cool, but also, some water has gone under the proverbial bridge between when last we saw Joker in this sort of appearance. He’s a road-weary Joker I guess that’s a way of saying it”. While a new-look Joker would be thrilling, it is unclear as to what role the menacing villain would play in the Snyder Cut.
Infusing such an important character would require skill and extra effort, especially considering that The Joker isn’t exactly capable of playing a support role. If he is going to have a major role in the movie, how would it tie into the bigger plot? Of course if there are few people skilled in meandering scenarios like this, Zack Snyder is one of them. And with a talented actor like Jared Leto working alongside, whatever version of The Joker we get should be exciting.
So the hype surrounding the Joker is at its peak for fans. Sony wouldn’t want to debut a new character in selected theatres competing with Joker on HBO Max.
Morbius The Living Vampire
Morbius’ October release closely aligns with Spider-Man 3’s December debut. In a bid to develop its own Spider-verse Sony is debuting Spider-Man related characters like Morbius, Venom, Carnage and more. Jared Leto led Morbius was initially set to debut in July 2020, however, it has been delayed for the fourth time.
Watch: MORBIUS Trailer Breakdown! Spider-Man Easter Eggs
It’s also worth noticing that Tom Hardy’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage – another movie in SPUMC’s Spider-verse – is slated to drop on June 25. This will put Morbius right before Tom Holland starrer Spider-Man 3. It’s heavily rumoured that Sony is attempting a Sinister Six movie so the release timing makes sense for creating the right hype around the character.
Marvel’s Morbius is the story revolving around a biochemist who turns into a Living Vampire after an experiment goes wrong in curing his rare blood disease. The movie is directed by Daniel Espinosa and written by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama.
After Leto’s highly criticized stint as Joker enacting Marvel’s Living Vampire is his second stint in Superhero genre. Nonetheless, a good chunk of fandom is eager for Leto’s version of Clown Prince of Crime to get his redemption. It is also wise of Sony – who in the past have done serious mistakes with Spider-Man franchise – to not let Leto’s two characters collide in fandom space and dodge any comparison.
