Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters is set to continue with a feature film starring Jared Leto as Spider-Man adversary Morbius the Living Vampire. After multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony has once again postponed the release of Morbius, this time settling on a January 2022 date in order to avoid competing with the James Bond film No Time to Die.
Initially scheduled to hit theaters in July 2020, Sony Pictures opted to postpone the release of Morbius until March 2021 due to the pandemic. However, as the second wave of the global crisis continues to worsen with no indication that the situation will improve until later in the year, at best, Sony once again delayed the release of Morbius until October 8, 2021.
Now, Deadline reports Morbius has been pushed back to January 21, 2022, just 10 days after being moved from March to October. The decision to delay the Spider-Man spin-off until next year arrives just hours after MGM opted to postpone Daniel Craig's No Time to Die until the October 8 date previously occupied by Morbius. Evidently, Sony wants to avoid competing against the James Bond film. At this time, Morbius is the only wide release planned for the January 21 weekend of 2021 and Sony will have access to all Imax screens for the film.
Morbius is the third installment of Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters, a franchise that also includes Tom Hardy's Venom and its forthcoming sequel subtitled Let There Be Carnage. As with the comics, the story centers on Dr. Michael Morbius and his efforts to cure himself of a rare blood disorder. In a desperate attempt to heal his affliction that initially appears to be successful, Dr. Morbius ends up infecting him with a form of vampirism that grants him superhuman abilities and a thirst for blood.
Sony's plans for its UMC include a number of projects based on heroes and villains associated with Spider-Man, including a feature film centered on Kraven the Hunter. As of August 2020, Triple Frontier director was J.C. Chandor was in talks to helm the Kraven film from a script penned by Art Marcum and Matt Holloway.
Whether or not Tom Holland's Spider-Man will appear in any of these films remains to be seen, though Sony still retains the screen rights to the character. Of course, Marvel Studios' plans to incorporate the multiverse into its Phase 4 plans could provide a means for Holland's wall-crawler to traverse between the MCU and Sony's UMC.
Morbius is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on January 21, 2022.
Source: Deadline