Sony is planning a Spider-Man spinoff with Morbius the Living Vampire

Sony is adding yet another spinoff film to its cinematic universe based on Spider-Man characters with the reveal of a feature-length film starring Morbius the Living Vampire. Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, who penned the recent POWER RANGERS movie, have already submitted a script to the studio for the new project.

Viewed by many readers as an antihero in the pages of Marvel Comics, Dr. Michael Morbius is a scientist who suffered from a rare blood disease that made an attempt to cure his condition to horrific results. Rather than rid himself of the life-threatening illness, Morbius inadvertently cursed himself with a form of vampirism. Along with his thirst for blood, Morbius was also imbued with the power of super strength. As a reoccurring character in Spidey's universe, Morbius has traded blows with the friendly neighborhood wall-crawler several times since his debut in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man #101. Throughout the years, the Morbius character has undergone a series of changes, with recent stories finding him on the side of good as opposed to evil. How the character will be portrayed in Sony's film remains to be seen.

For what it's worth, I've read plenty of stories featuring Morbius, and a great deal of them have painted the character as a complex figure in Spider-Man's extended rogue's gallery. If Sony plays their cards right, and chooses to frame this project as a bonafide horror film, they could really be onto something here. If you're looking to read a Spidey-less comic book tale featuring the Living Vampire, I recommend that you check out Marvel's Legion of Monsters (2011) written by Dennis Hopeless with art by Juan Doe.

MORBIUS will join the ever-growing list of Sony's planned Spider-Man spinoff films including VENOM starring Tom Hardy and SLIVER & BLACK as directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. The first feature int he series of spinoff films, VENOM, is scheduled to be released on October 5, 2018.