A little over two years has passed since legendary director Martin Scorsese made his infamous comment on comic book films. That doesn’t mean this particular pop culture coal fire has died down, as plenty of people still reference and meme the “cinema vs. not-cinema” debate that came from the filmmaker’s candid thoughts on Marvel movies. In the wake of Sony’s Morbius debuting at the box office, someone generated a post of fake praise from Scorsese that was so convincing, it managed to confuse actor Tyrese Gibson into temporarily sharing it as a real deal.
While the posts themselves were eventually removed from the Morbius star’s social media presence, someone on Twitter had already taken screenshots. Sharing both the fake praise that supposedly came from Martin Scorsese, as well as Tyrese’s boosting of that signal, you can see how someone might have been convinced this was a genuine article. Take a look at both the message, and Gibson’s reaction, included below:
tyrese thinking martin scorsese actually called morbius the height of cinema is the funniest thing that’s happened all week pic.twitter.com/YSg42IoRcWApril 3, 2022
On first blush, the photoshop job that looks like Martin Scorsese walking the carpet at the Morbius premiere is passable. Though by time an onlooker starts to read the quote attributed to this gag that was probably intended to capitalize on the film’s April Fools Day release date, you can see where it all starts to fall apart. At least, that’s if you're using the critical reaction to Jared Leto’s Marvel adjacent blockbuster as your guideline.
There was still plenty for Tyrese Gibson and director Daniel Espinoza to celebrate, thanks to their joint effort was the king of the movies this past weekend. As Morbius debuted at #1 with $39.1 million, Sony’s latest Marvel adjacent property showed that the audience will still flock to a new comic offering. While this isn’t anywhere near the record smashing opening that kicked off Spider-Man: No Way Home’s massive theatrical campaign, it’s still a promising sign that the numerous delays may have been worth it.
At the time of this writing, Morbius is sitting at 17% with critics, but has a healthy 70% rating with audiences. That sort of divide will be interesting to keep an eye on this weekend, as the second frame for this bloodsucking hero will see Sonic the Hedgehog 2 presenting the stiffest competition. Even Martin Scorsese is probably sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting to see who wins. Just don’t expect him to give any quotes out about the matter, as he’s probably busy working on his latest project, the Apple original film adaptation of Killers of the Flower Moon.
Morbius continues to feed on the lifeblood of cinema, as it’s exclusively showing in theaters at the moment. To take a look at all of the other movies heading to theaters in the year ahead, please consult the full slate of 2022 movie releases at your earliest convenience. Though if you’re one of those fans who really loves to know when upcoming Marvel movies are on the way, there’s an entirely separate guide for that very subject.
