With Peter Parker off in the MCU having fun with the likes of Iron Man and Captain America, Sony has been working hard to create its very own cinematic universe, separate from Tom Holland's portrayal of the web-slinger. The first installment in this new saga is Venom, starring Tom Hardy and directed by Ruben Fleischer.

The black goo's standalone adventure will be followed by Gina Prince-Bythewood's Silver And Black, a movie described as the Thelma & Louise of the Marvel Universe centered around Silver Sable and Black Cat. There are also rumors swirling that Sony is hard at work developing a movie about Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. Those three projects sound ambitious enough for such a young franchise, but Sony has its sights set on expanding the world even further.

Michael Morbius, The Living Vampire, Is Getting His Own Movie

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is developing Morbius, a film centered around Michael Morbius, The Living Vampire, one of Spider-Man's most fearsome (and downright terrifying) baddies. Surprisingly, though, the project isn't in early stages but is much further along than anticipated.

Sony started developing the film in secret and hired Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (Power Rangers) to write the script. As THR revealed, the script is now finished, and has been submitted to the studio. How the film will approach its blood-sucking titular character is a mystery right now, but with a title and a screenplay already in place, I wouldn't be surprised if we hear more official information about it soon.

Who Exactly Is Morbius?

Morbius is a bit unknown when compared to Spidey villains like Dr. Octopus or the Green Goblin, so allow me to give you some backstory. Created by Gil Kane and Roy Thomas, the blood-thirsty fella made his comic book debut in 1971's The Amazing Spider-Man #101. Michael Morbius was a brilliant scientist who earned himself a Nobel Prize in biochemistry, but not everything was fun and games for him. The man suffered from a debilitating blood condition, so, taking advantage of his genius, he created a treatment for himself involving electricity and bats.

Unfortunately, as it always happens in comic books, things didn't go as planned. Instead of curing him, his treatment turned him into a vampire, with a never-ending thirst for blood. Because he's a comic book character, though, he also got a variety of powers, such as super strength, super speed, a healing factor, the ability to fly, and the ability to turn anyone he bit into a vampire—you know, your usual vampire things. Unable to contain his desire for blood, the former scientist murdered countless people before eventually moving to the United States.

There, he encountered our friendly neighborhood Spider Man, who at the time was trying to get rid of the four extra arms he had acquired in a failed attempt to get rid of his powers. The two battled, but Morbius managed to get away. Ever since that fateful encounter, the living vampire has been one of Spider-Man's most prominent pains in the neck, but also one of Marvel's most interesting characters.

Despite having started out as a baddie, Michael Morbius eventually tried to mend his ways and become an antihero, ruthless, but with pure intentions. Being honest, seeing Morbius get a standalone film was a surprise, but the project has a lot of potential.

The Living Vampire is a violent, super-powered individual who constantly struggles with his own morality. Those nuances and internal conflicts could make for a really interesting exploratory journey. Plus, it will most likely sit well with the more adult-oriented approach Sony is apparently taking with its superhero universe.

Sony Seems To Be Quite Excited To Expand Its New Spidey Cinematic Universe

Morbius isn't the only Spidey villain that Sony hopes to put on the big screen in the near future. As mentioned above, the studio is also developing projects for Mysterio and Kraven The Hunter. What these new projects will be is a mystery right now, and there hasn't been much word about them for a few months, but it's exciting to see Sony so focused in creating a superhero film series—or should we call it a supervillain series?—that holds its own next to the likes of the MCU and DCEU.

Now, it remains to be seen whether or not all these projects actually move forward. As it stands right now, the success of Sony's superhero franchise depends mostly on Venom, so we'll have to wait to see how things turn out. I'm excited for the studio's original approach to the superhero genre by giving somewhat obscure characters their own standalone stories, and I'm crossing my fingers for this new saga to succeed.

Morbius has a scheduled release date is March 19, 2021, but Sony's Spider-verse will kick off with Venom on October 15, 2018.

[Source: The Hollywood Reporter]

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