We’re not even two full weeks into 2021 yet, and there’s already a sense of deja vu… at least, when it comes to movies and their theatrical runs. So much of 2020 was filled with news about studios pushing back movie release dates, oftentimes more than once. Well, we now begin yet another round of that, as word’s come in that the upcoming Jared Leto-led feature Morbius has been delayed again.
At the start of 2020, the plan was for Morbius, which is part of the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, to be released on July 10, 2020, though that date quickly changed to July 31 a few weeks later. By the time the COVID-19 pandemic started getting out of hand in late March 2020, Sony decided to shift Morbius to March 19, 2021. Now the trades have confirmed that Morbius has been moved to October 8, 2021.
Morbius now finds itself facing The Addams Family 2 on that same opening weekend, while other movies coming out this October include Dune, Halloween Kills, The Last Duel and Snake Eyes. Of course, with other movie delays expected to follow in Morbius’ wake, it’s hard to say if any of those other movies will be October releases for much longer. For all we know, those slots could all be filled by different movies in just a few months time.
It’s also worth mentioning that Venom: Let There be Carnage, another SPUMC movie, is slated to drop on June 25, 2021. So unless Sony decides to move the Venom sequel to either the end of 2021 or into 2022, Morbius will end up being the third movie in this comic book franchise. It might depend on if the events of Morbius definitively take place after Let There be Carnage, or if there’s some wiggle room with the timeline.
In any case, for now, expect Morbius to drop this coming October. I’d argue the Halloween season in a more fitting release period for the movie since it’s about a man who becomes afflicted with vampirism. Just like his comic book counterpart, Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius suffers from a rare blood disease, and while the experiment involving vampire bats he undertakes to cure the condition is successful, he consequently develops special abilities and a thirst for blood.
Morbius’ other main cast members include Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, Adria Arjona as Michael Morbius’ fiancée Martine Bancroft, Jared Harris as Michael’s mentor, Al Madrigal as FBI agent Alberto Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson as FBI agent Simon Stroud, who has a bionic arm. The first Morbius trailer also revealed Michael Keaton will show up, but it still hasn’t been officially confirmed if he’s reprising Adrian Toomes, who we last saw in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Life’s Daniel Espinosa directed Morbius, and Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless wrote the screenplay.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates about Morbius. Don’t forget to look though our 2021 release schedule to learn about this year’s other forthcoming movies.
