By this point, it’s more than evident that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive effect on the film industry. Film productions were forced to pause, leading to studios to delay a number of high-profile movies in the process. This includes Sony’s Spider-Man spinoff, Morbius, which was first slated to hit theaters during the summer of 2020. The Jared Leto-led film has since shifted spots in both 2021 and 2022 and, now, the movie has received another slight delay.
Most recently, Morbius was scheduled to be released on January 21, 2022, but another delay has caused the film to be shifted back one week to January 28, per IGN. The move comes around a time that Sony is continuing to shift its films into positions to succeed at the box office.
The news may be somewhat disappointing for some fans who have been waiting anxiously to see the latest installment in Sony’s Spider-Man adjacent franchise. However, a one-week delay is nothing compared to the months of shuffling that the movie was previously faced with.
Morbius isn’t the only Sony/Marvel film to experience delays due to the ongoing pandemic. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was originally set for release on October 2, 2020. The movie was later shifted to June 2021 before moving back to September 17. Just recently, the highly anticipated supervillain sequel received a one-week delay just as Morbius did.
So far, fans have only been treated to one trailer for Morbius, but it seemed to be enough to get fans excited for the comic book adaptation. The film centers on the titular Michael Morbius, a scientist who suffers from a rare blood disease. In his attempts to cure himself, he afflicts himself with a form of vampirism, which gives him both superhuman abilities and all of the weaknesses that come with being a vampire. Jared Leto is joined in the film by Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris and Tyrese Gibson. The superhero flick definitely seems to be going for a horror vibe, and you can check out the trailer for yourself down below:
But aside the creepy motif, it looks like the film could indeed have some key Spider-Man connections. The biggest is arguably the inclusion of Michael Keaton, who previously played the role of Adrian Toomes/The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming. While Keaton isn’t confirmed to be playing Toomes at this time, some still believe this could hint at a larger, live-action multiverse.
Unfortunately, fans still have to wait some time before they can learn the answers to some of Morbius’ biggest questions. Still, they can find solace in the fact that this latest delay won’t push things back too far. Let’s hope the film is well worth the wait.
