Jared Leto's Spider-Man Spinoff Morbius Delayed Again

We've been waiting to see where else Sony can take its live-action Spider-verse following the mixed bag that was 2018's Venom film, but we're going to be waiting a few months longer. Sony has delayed its upcoming film Morbius until the fall, according to a report from Variety.

Sony has reportedly pushed Morbius from its already delayed March 19 release until October 8, 2021, Variety writes. The film, set to star Jared Leto, has been on Sony's schedule for a while now. It was originally set to release in July 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It held onto its March 19, 2021 release date at least up through mid-December, before this latest delay.

Jared Leto plays the part of Morbius, the Living Vampire, an anti-hero from the Spider-Man comics. Like many of Spider-Man's allies and enemies, Morbius is a mutation resulting from the combination of human and animal DNA. Dr. Michael Morbius seeks to cure his rare blood disease but, in doing so, inherits many vampiric characteristics. Though he began life as a villain, he's morphed into an anti-hero character in the vein of Venom.

There are questions about Morbius's place in the expanding "Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters," as Sony has decided to call it. Graffiti seen in trailers shows a Spider-Man that looks distinctively like the Spidey costume shown in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy. Meanwhile, trailers also show Michael Keaton, who appeared as Vulture/Adrian Toomes in Spider-Man: Homecoming, interacting with Morbius. Keaton is not yet confirmed to be reprising the role of Toomes, but his appearance would seem to suggest that Morbius overlaps with the MCU version of Spider-Man played by Tom Holland.

Casting confirmations for the upcoming third Spider-Man film muddy the waters further. Jamie Foxx will play a version of Electro, the same character he played in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which starred Andrew Garfield as the Web-Head. Meanwhile, Alfred Molina will reprise his role as Dr. Octopus/Otto Octavius from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2, and J.K. Simmons popped up in the stinger at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home, once again playing ranting newsman J. Jonah Jameson.

While you wait for Morbius to hit theaters in October, you can read up on our list of the many other films delayed as a result of COVID-19 complications.