Morbius is definitely connected to Spider-Man, and set in Sony's Marvel Universe, but you can cross one character theory off your list. Jared Leto plays lead character Michael Morbius, but the first trailer for the summer 2020 movie focused heavily on the other Jared -- Jared Harris.
Who is he playing?
Jared Harris' character is described as Morbius' mentor, and the trailer shows him saying he's known Michael Morbius since he was a boy. He knows Morbius has a gift and always has. Flashback footage in the trailer seems to show Harris' character protecting young Michael, who would grow up to be a scientist who tries to cure his own rare blood disease and instead becomes Morbius The Living Vampire.
Because Morbius was introduced through The Amazing Spider-Man, fans used their Spidey-senses to imagine which Marvel Comics character Jared Harris could be playing. After that first trailer, fans were theorizing that Morbius might lead to the Sinister Six.
So could Jared Harris be playing Dr. Otto Octavius? Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 2 already included the character of Doctor Octopus -- a scientist and Peter's role model -- as played by Alfred Molina. Kathryn Hahn voiced Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
We've seen several versions of iconic DC and Marvel characters work well on screen -- hello Joker -- so why not bring back Doc Ock? Well, it was a theory but Jared Harris didn't just shut it down, he shut it down hard:
No. I love the imagination that the fans have, it’s exciting for me to think about the imagination that fans have. But yeah no, it’s not.
He can't very well spoil his real character when Variety asked him about it, but I doubt he would lean into it that hard if he really is playing Doctor Octopus. He could've been vague if it was true, said something clever. But it's a no from him on Doc Ock.
So who is he playing? It's not like there aren't plenty of options across Marvel Comics. I doubt they'd cast someone as prestigious as Chernobyl's Jared Harris without giving him a meaty role, they're just not going to spoon-feed it to us.
We know Jared Leto plays Michael Morbius, with Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, who has the same rare blood disease. Adria Arjona plays Morbius' fiancee, Martine Bancroft. Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal play FBI agents hunting Morbius.
Also, the trailer ended with a shot of Michael Keaton that darn near broke the internet. Who is HE playing? Fans immediately thought Vulture, his character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But no one is confirming that yet. Is it safe to assume yes or safer to assume no?
Michael Keaton's role in Morbius may have the fandom talking, but today I'm interested in who the great Jared Harris is playing, so watch the trailer again here and send me all your theories:
Morbius arrives in theaters July 31, 2020 -- a good month for Spider-Man movies, it seems. It's the second movie in Sony's Marvel Universe after Venom, which is getting its own sequel in October. Keep up with everything heading to the big screen this year with our 2020 movie release date schedule.
