January 20, 2021 was a momentous day, and not just because Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. This past Inauguration Day also saw Senator Bernie Sanders being memed by the internet; while waiting for the event to begin, he was seen wearing a hefty coat and some amazing mittens to keep warm while out in the cold. Now actor Jared Leto has gotten in on the Bernie memes while commenting on the delay of his upcoming movie, Morbius.
Late Thursday night, after delaying four of its other movies, Sony Pictures announced that Morbius, the third entry in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, was moving from October 8, 2021 to a January 21, 2022 release. Now Jared Leto has turned to the cozied-up Bernie Sanders meme to address the Morbius delay, as well as another movie of his arriving much sooner, The Little Things.
Shirtless Jared Leto is a treat for his fans all on its own, but throw Bernie Sanders into the mix, and then it just gets hilarious. Judging by his reaction on Twitter, it sounds like Leto found these particular Bernie memes rather than created them himself, but he clearly got a kick out of seeing Bernie Sanders inserted into photos of him. Leto’s certainly not the only celebrity who’s taken part in this Bernie craze, with Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Hart, Paul Bettany and Annie Murphy among the others who’ve shared their own pictures.
As far as Morbius is concerned, this is the fourth time it’s been delayed. Back in 2018, Sony first dated it for July 10, 2020, and then at the beginning of 2019, the studio shifted it to July 31, 2020. However, like so many movies, Morbius had to be further pushed back in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Sony initially delaying it to March 19, 2021, and then October 8, 2021. Now we’ll have to wait until the beginning of 2022 to watch Jared Leto play Michael Morbius, a scientist with a rare blood disease who finds a way to cure his condition using vampire bats, only to become afflicted with a form of vampirism.
It’s also worth noting that several other Spider-Man-related movies are officially still on deck to arrive in 2021… for now. Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which sees Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock clashing with Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady, is slated for June 25, 2021, while the yet-to-be-titled Spider-Man 3, which will see Tom Holland’s Peter Parker getting involved in some multiversal craziness, will follow on December 17. It’s hard to say if either of these movies will be also pushed back, though the Venom sequel seems like the best bet given how it’s less than half a year away, not to mention how Sony may want it to revert to being the third SPUMC movie.
Along with Jared Leto bringing Michael Morbius to life, Morbius also stars Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, Adria Arjona as Martin Bancroft, Jared Harris as Morbius’ yet-to-be-identified mentor, Al Madrigal as FBI agent Alberto Rodriguez and Tyrese Gibson as FBI agent Simon Stroud. It was also revealed in the first Morbius trailer that Michael Keaton will appear, although it still hasn’t been officially confirmed if he’s reprising Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. The Vulture, who we first saw in Spider-Man: Homecoming. Behind the cameras, Daniel Espinosa directed Morbius, and Matt Sazama and Burketts Sharpless penned the script.
As we wait for more news about Morbius, Jared Leto’s next movie, the psychological crime thriller The Little Things, will premiere both in theaters and on HBO Max on January 29. As for what the rest of the year holds in store movies-wise, that information can be found in our 2021 release schedule.
