Jared Harris joins Jared Leto in Sony’s Marvel movie Morbius

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Sony certainly had a big, monster hit on their hands with VENOM last year, and now they’re looking to other comic book properties they own as part of the Spider-Man canon to turn into solo movies. One of the characters slated for his own outing is Morbius the Living Vampire with Jared Leto in the starring role, and now the movie is coming more into fruition by adding MAD MEN and LINCOLN actor Jared Harris. Details about his role are being kept on the super hush-hush, but he now joins a supporting cast that also includes Matt Smith (DOCTOR WHO) and Adria Arjona (PACIFIC RIM: UPRISING).

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Deadline got the casting news that Harris has landed the role in the movie centering on Leto’s character, Dr. Michael Morbius, a famed biochemist who turns into the monstrous antihero after a failed experiment to treat his blood disorder imbues him with pseudo-vampiric abilities and traits – including a nightmarish appearance and the lust for human blood. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, the character first appeared in “The Amazing Spider-Man #101” in 1971 and has since gone on to have a long life in the comics – as to be expected by a vampire.

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The movie was announced back in 2017, but it wasn’t until summer 2018 that Leto was cast in the movie, and Daniel Espinosa (SAFE HOUSE) attached to direct and Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless (GOD OF EGYPT) on the script. Production began in February for a January 2020 release, so Sony seems keen on getting this movie up and running after another one of their movies around a monstrous antihero, VENOM, made well over $800 million globally, thus launching their own potential universe of movies. 

As for Harris, he is a terrific actor who has left an indelible mark on a variety of roles, including as Ulysses S. Grant in LINCOLN, Moriarty in SHERLOCK HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS and as King George VI on Netflix’s THE CROWN. Getting him for this big win, and we can only speculate as to who he’s playing at this point. Will he be a villain? A mentor? The mystery!