Jared Leto on what drew him to the character of Morbius

Yesterday brought us the first trailer for MORBIUS, the second installment of Sony's Marvel Universe following VENOM, and the results were…not quite as bad as I had feared? The film stars Jared Leto as Dr. Michael Morbius, who is dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder. In a desperate gamble, Dr. Morbius attempts a radical cure which transforms him into a living vampire, complete with inhuman abilities and the hunger which comes with it.

Jared Leto spoke with IGN following the release of the trailer to discuss what drew him to the character. "Morbius, the man, is a pretty complex character. That's what I was really attracted to. This is somebody who has a lot of conflict in his life," Leto said. "He's a guy who's born with this horrible disease and is really a gifted person. When he was young, he was very curious about science and medicine and decided to dedicate his life to find a cure for the disease that he's afflicted with and that others like him have, as well. But along the way, all hell breaks loose." Leto added that Morbius' battle between light and dark, right and wrong, was also a big part of the appeal.

Inside of Morbius, there's a person who has a moral code. There's a good person. Ultimately it's that common struggle between good and evil. And, I guess, we'll see what ultimately prevails. That's what I like a lot about this movie. We're not walking such a clear path. There's not a clear line between what's right and what's wrong. There's some gray area there. And Morbius is an imperfect person. He's not your grandfather's superhero. He's a deeply complex character and imperfect. And I really loved that aspect that here we're taking someone who is like all of us, has a fair amount of challenges and issues.

MORBIUS also appears to nudging Sony's Marvel Universe towards a bigger connection with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, seeing as how the trailer shows us a poster with Spider-Man on it as well as an appearance from Michael Keaton, who appears to be reprising his SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING role of Adrian Toomes aka Vulture.

The official synopsis for MORBIUS:

One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero, Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease.

MORBIUS will hit theaters on July 31, 2020.