Jared Leto is set to star in Sony's Venom kicks off their spinoff universe this year, but they've got much more planned.
One of the projects that has been the subject of discussion is a movie centered around Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist who becomes a vampire after trying to cure his own disease. There hasn't been much news on the possible project, though, but now it is taking a major step forward.
Related: Morbius the Living Vampire Gets First Plot Details
THR reports Suicide Squad star Jared Leto is heading over to Marvel and will star in Morbius the Living Vampire. Not only will the Oscar-winner double up on superhero movie roles, but his latest project already has a director. Daniel Espinosa is going to direct the project, after previously helming Life for the studio. Update: Jared Leto has now confirmed his involvement with Morbius on Twitter.
Sony securing both Leto and Espinosa is a major step forward for Morbius and could make this a fast-tracked project. The script for Morbius is written by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama. The duo most recently tackled Lost in Space for Netflix. Espinosa was previously in the running to direct rumored Joker standalone movie.
The Morbius movie does not yet have a release date, but it may just be a matter of time. Variety reports it is likely to start filming this year, making a 2019 release date very possible. Just how quickly Sony moves on this remains to be seen. They still need to launch Venom in October, so the response to that could dictate whether or not Morbius continues its quick development. But, with Leto reportedly having a hand in the director search, now that the two biggest pieces are in place, we could see the film actually start to move even quicker. Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars finishes its tour in September and with no pressing film projects on Leto's schedule, he's certainly free to start on Morbius the Living Vampire this fall. As more details come in, we'll be sure to share the news.
