Jared Leto to Star as 'Morbius,' Daniel Espinosa Set to Direct

Morbius Sony Marvel Matt Sazama Burk Sharpless Jared Leto Vampire

Oscar winner Jared Leto will star in and Daniel Espinosa will direct “Morbius,” based on the Marvel comic, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap on Wednesday.

Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will produce with Lucas Foster. Palak Patel will oversee for the studio.

Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless wrote the script.

Also Read: 'Morbius': Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless in Talks to Write Sony-Marvel Vampire Movie

The Morbius character was created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane and first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man” issue no. 101 in 1971. In the comics, Michael Morbius is a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist who is transformed into a vampire while attempting to cure a rare blood disease with a highly experimental approach involving electroshock therapy… and vampire bats.

Oh, and Spider-Man had six arms at the time. It was temporary.

As a “pseudo-vampire,” Morbius does not possess all the powers of an actual vampire, and isn’t subject to all the traditional limitations and weaknesses thereof, according to Marvel lore.

Also Read: 'Silk': Sony Developing Project About Marvel Comic Korean-American Heroine

He must digest blood to survive and has a strong aversion to light, like most vampires. But he also has the ability to fly, and superhuman strength, speed and healing abilities. His bite tends to be lethal, but his victims do not necessarily become vampires themselves.

Morbius almost made it to the big screen before. In 2000, when Avi Arad was president and CEO of Marvel Studios, the company entered into an agreement with Artisan Entertainment to turn at least 15 Marvel superhero franchises into live-action films, television series, direct-to-video films or internet projects. Morbius would have been among the franchises.

Sazama and Sharpless’ recent credits include “Gods of Egypt,” “The Last Witch Hunter” and “Dracula Untold.”

Sazama and Sharpless are represented by ICM Partners and the SMGS law firm.

Espinosa is repped by WME, Magnolia Entertainment and Warren Dern.

All 7 Theatrical 'Spider-Man' Movies Ranked, Worst to Best

We've been through a whole lot of Spider-Man in the past couple decades, from the Tobey Maguire years to Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to, now, a big-screen animated pic focused on Miles Morales and a whole bunch of other Spider-People. So how does this new animated version of Spidey stack up with the previous flicks?
7. "The Amazing Spider-Man"

The first attempt to reboot the series after the Sam Raimi version of "Spider-Man" is easily the worst Spidey film because it's just so irritating to watch. It's one thing to be bad, and it's something else entirely to be annoying.
Sony
6. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2"

Unlike its predecessor, Marc Webb's second failed attempt to make a coherent "Spider-Man" movie at least had the decency to be amusing thanks to the decision to have an unhinged, glowing Jamie Foxx as the main villain.
Sony
5. "Spider-Man 3"

In contrast to the more cynical failures of the "Amazing Spider-Man" movies, Raimi's last go-around maintained a beating heart even while it was severely hampered by somebody's need to shove a million villains in at once. The dance number alone makes it more interesting than nearly any other bad superhero movie.
Sony
4. "Spider-Man"

A lot of the early movies in the modern age of superhero blockbusters were very novel and exciting at the time but ended up feeling pretty mundane next to more recent ones, and the original "Spider-Man" movie is definitely one of those. It's fine. Solid.
Sony
3. "Spider-Man: Homecoming"

The storytelling suffers a bit upon reflection, but it's delightful and works so well as a comedy that it's hard to complain too much.
Sony
2. "Spider-Man 2"

If you look back at every comic book movie ever made, you're not going to find a whole lot that feel totally complete on their own. But "Spider-Man 2" is definitely one of them. It's not just a great superhero movie -- it's a great movie, period.
Sony
1. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"

While "Spider-Man 2" might have made me cry, "Into the Spider-Verse" made me weep. It also proved once and for all that Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is the superior Spider-Man to Peter Parker.

1 of 8

How does the animated “Spider-Verse” stack up in comparison with all those live-action mega-budget movies?

We've been through a whole lot of Spider-Man in the past couple decades, from the Tobey Maguire years to Tom Holland in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to, now, a big-screen animated pic focused on Miles Morales and a whole bunch of other Spider-People. So how does this new animated version of Spidey stack up with the previous flicks?

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