Everything you need to know about the ‘Morbius’ Spider-Man spinoff

With the news that Jared Leto has signed on to play Morbius in a spinoff of the Spider-Man franchise, we’re taking a look at everything there is to know about the film so far. And more importantly, do we even need it? Short answer: No, we probably do not. It seems like a lifetime ago now that Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead) directed the first of the new Spider-Man films. The franchise now feels a bit like the Star Wars films whereby you don’t really know where they’re up to or what the point is anymore other than fanboys getting to see what currently hot actor will play a relatively small character from the comic book series that they kind of remember from childhood. But they’ll keep churning them out as long as people keep going to see them and is that really a bad thing? Well, for Marvel it sure as hell isn’t.

Who’s in it?

Jared Leto leads the cast as Dr. Michael Morbius, the biochemist turned antihero whose vampiric condition drives the story. Matt Smith plays Milo, Morbius’s longtime friend whose own transformation creates the central conflict. Adria Arjona portrays Martine Bancroft, the hematologist and romantic interest whose research intersects with Morbius’s experiments. Jared Harris appears as Dr. Nicholas, the mentor figure guiding early research efforts. Michael Keaton reprises his role as Vulture in a post-credits scene that directly connects the film to the larger Spider-Man universe.

Who’s making it?

Safe House director Daniel Espinosa has signed on to direct the film, which is being written by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama who wrote for the Netflix show Lost in Space. Producing duties go to Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach along with Lucas Foster and Palak Patel.

Are there any other spinoffs in the pipeline?

You bet your goddamn Spidey Senses there are! Along with the Morbius movie, there’s the Venom film (starring Tom Hardy), the sequel to last year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming, and there’s Spider-Man: Far From Home (hopefully National Lampoon’s Spidey Vacation will complete that trilogy). There’s also a Silk film about Peter Parker’s classmate Cindy Moon who was also bitten by a radioactive spider, which will be the first superhero movie to star a Korean-American actor in a lead role. Not to mention Silver and Black – the long-awaited Marvel film with female superhero leads. And though that isn’t scheduled to go into production until next year, Gina Prince-Bythewood – the executive producer of Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger show – is already attached to direct. That enough spinoffs for ya? We thought so.

Reception and Legacy

Morbius arrived in theaters on April 1, 2022, and met with near-universal critical dismissal. Reviewers highlighted thin plotting, uneven tone, and a lead performance that failed to generate much empathy. The film also fell short of box-office projections once word of mouth spread. Industry analysts noted that the Sony Spider-Man Universe struggled to match the cultural weight of the main Marvel Cinematic Universe entries, leaving Morbius as a cautionary case study in how quickly audience interest can evaporate without stronger narrative hooks.

Post-Credits Scene and Connections

The mid-credits sequence features Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, arriving in the Morbius timeline after a multiverse mishap. The scene teases potential crossovers between the Sony properties and the broader Spider-Man multiverse, though the promise never fully materialized in subsequent releases. Viewers who stayed through the credits were treated to the familiar Keaton smirk, a deliberate callback designed to generate online chatter and keep the shared-universe conversation alive.

Franchise Direction After 2024

By the end of 2024, Sony had completed the Venom trilogy with The Last Dance, while also releasing Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter to mixed-to-poor results. The Silk and Silver and Black projects mentioned in earlier coverage never reached production in the form originally described. In February 2026, Sony confirmed plans for a fresh reboot of its live-action Spider-Man Universe slate, effectively closing the chapter on the Morbius-era approach and signaling a strategic reset after several underperforming entries.

Jared Leto’s Role in the Broader Universe

Leto’s Morbius appeared only in the 2022 film, with no confirmed sequel or extended arc announced. The actor’s performance drew commentary for its intensity, yet the character never gained the traction that might have justified further investment. Leto’s prior work as the Joker in Suicide Squad and its follow-up positioned him as a go-to comic-book performer, but the Morbius experience underscored how quickly studio momentum can shift when audience response stays lukewarm.