Image Source: Polygon
The failed movie Morbius has become an online sensation as people take pleasure in memes and jokes about the titular character. The line “It’s Morbin’ time!” referring to the Power Rangers’ battle cry, has been turned into a call-to-arms that led many fans to demand another installment from Marvel Studios, who own rights over this character.
Morbius is a story of an ill biochemist who tries to find a cure for his rare blood disease. But unfortunately, he transforms into a vampire and must now survive with his new abilities. The film hasn’t just flopped at the box office; critical reviews also panned it, with the audience reception showing more warmth to the film and giving it a 71% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sony has been building up the Sinister Six for quite some time now, with three films in their Sony-verse. The third installment of these spinoffs was led by Jared Leto and featured a Michael Keaton cameo as Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming; the cameo connected Morbius back to the MCU. Additionally, the production of the upcoming Kraven the Hunter film is an example of the growing trend in Sony’s Marvel films.
Morbius may have received a poor reception from critics, but it became an Internet phenomenon after the film inspired hundreds or even thousands of posts on social media. Someone recently streamed Morbius for over 12 hours straight on Twitch, bringing in 2,000 people who wanted to see what all the fuss was about. The channel has since been removed for violating the platform’s terms of service.
Jared Leto’s performance as the blood-thirsty Morbius has been met with largely negative reviews, but fans are still calling for more. Unfortunately, the disappointing box office reception for Morbius may also indicate that there won’t be a sequel, but the closest fans can get to another Jared Leto-led film with the character is in an upcoming team-up movie.
There has been some concern from Twitter users that the jokes calling for Morbius 2 may be misunderstood by Sony, who might give it an official green light. While many are excited at the prospect of another film, most fans are hoping that’s not the case.
The Sony-verse may see Morbius join Kraven the Hunter, Vulture and Venom in a film that would ultimately lead to a Spiderman showdown. Leto believes his character has a date with destiny with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker, but that is yet to be seen.
