Jared Leto ed Sony's VenomVerse with Venom in 2018 by pairing a recognizable star in Tom Hardy with a major Spider-Man comic villain in Venom. An attempt to replicate a similar formula brought them to make Morbius, with Jared Leto starring as the Living Vampire. The film became the third entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, and the movie clearly sets up Morbius' return and a bigger role for him to play in the shared Marvel universe.
Throughout Morbius' marketing and production, it was clear that Sony wanted the movie to help set up the future of the VenomVerse. Rumors swirled that Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock would appear, while the trailers confirmed Vulture (Michael Keaton) would be involved somehow. The speculation mounted from there that Morbius could be connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, allowing Sony to eventually have Jared Leto's vampire fight Tom Holland's Spider-Man. However, Morbius did not have a favorable release once it finally arrived in 2022. The movie received very harsh reviews from critics, while its box office only accumulated $163 million.
The performance of Morbius came in light of the movie becoming a centerpiece for pop culture online thanks to a variety of memes, which Sony and Jared Leto even played into eventually. Regardless of the largely negative response, Sony's plans for Morbius in the VenomVerse cannot be ignored. Whether that means making a sequel or having Jared Leto's Morbius return in Sony's other Marvel movies, there is still a chance the living vampire's story will continue.
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How Morbius Sets Up Jared Leto's Marvel Future
By the time Morbius' ending happens, Jared Leto's VenomVerse future is quite clearly outlined. Dr. Michael Morbius comes to master his new superpowers and defeat Milo (Matt Smith), even if he has not fully figured out the issue of how to maintain his powers without feeding on human blood. Fighting Milo to his death transitions Morbius to being more of a hero as he worked to get revenge for the death of Martine Bancroft. Of course, Morbius reveals that Martine has also become a Living Vampire. Her turn is not fully explored in the brief tease, as it instead is implied that Martine's vampirism will be a big part of Morbius' own story. He was responsible for turning her after all, so their romantic connection could return and be the core of a sequel's story.
In addition to setting up a potential sequel, Spider-Man: No Way Home is responsible for transporting Vulture from the MCU to Sony's Spider-Man Universe. Adrian Toomes somehow arranges a meeting with Michael Morbius in the desert and tells him that they should work together to take out Spider-Man. Why Vulture or Morbius want to fight Spider-Man is not explained, let alone who the Spider-Man is in this universe, but the tease is Sony's obvious attempt to build a Sinister Six team that could be this franchise's equivalent of the Avengers - but made of villains.
Is Sony Making Morbius 2?
Sony's decision to make Morbius was certainly done with the hopes of launching a franchise in mind. However, the chances of Morbius 2 happening are non-existent at this point. Sony has not made any movement on a Morbius sequel since the first movie's release. The closest anyone involved with the film has come to discussing the status of a sequel is when Jared Leto joked about reading a script for Morbius 2: It's Morbin' Time as a reference to the film's online memes. The lack of any movement on Morbius 2 shows that it is not part of the studio's plans at the moment, and there is little reason to believe that will change.
Sony was already fooled by this chatter once before, leading to the decision to Venom: Let There Be Carnage make over $500 million worldwide, while Spider-Man: No Way Home is the sixth highest grossing movie of all time. That likely puts the stake in this vampire movie franchise before it could really begin.
Will Morbius Return In Venom 3?
If Morbius 2 does not happen, then Jared Leto's Morbius will have to return in other VenomVerse movies for Sony instead. Venom: Let There Be Carnage's ending set up plenty of storylines for Venom 3 to explore, and while interaction with vampires and the supernatural was not part of it, the sequel is still a potential landing spot for Morbius' return. The two characters did not crossover in Morbius or Venom 2 despite various rumors, so there is a chance Sony will bring them together in Tom Hardy's next solo movie. Even if this does happen, though, it is unlikely that Morbius would have a major role. It is more likely that Jared Leto's Morbius returning in Venom 3 would amount to barely more than a cameo and be used by Sony to continue teasing the Sinister Six.
Sinister Six Is Morbius' Only Real Future
Sony has long had dreams of making a El Muerto could also surprisingly the roster.
In any case, Sony's Sinister Six movie is the best chance for Jared Leto's Morbius to make any sort of return. Even if he does not return before the team-up, there is still room for the Living Vampire to be part of the villain movie. It would be an opportunity for Sony to potentially course correct the character a bit, with the hope that he will shine brighter within the team dynamic. Morbius and Venom can be the foundation of the team's powers, while Vulture could be the leader of the villain squad. If Sinister Six does not happen after Morbius, though, then audiences have likely already seen the last of Jared Leto's Living Vampire.
