Now that Venom has got its Universe of Marvel Characters off to a healthy start at the box office, the Tom Hardy-headlined blockbuster having pulled in over $200 million in its opening weekend, it seems Sony is about to kick its Spider-Man spinoff plans into full gear.
It’s already been reported that Morbius the Living Vampire will be the next character out of the gate, with Suicide Squad’s Jared Leto in the title role as Dr. Michael Morbius, and now comes word that the plan is to begin principal photography on the Morbius movie in February.
Speaking to Collider, Venom producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach revealed that filming will “more or less” begin in February, with the shoot running through the “early part of next year.”
Despite Sony’s reluctance for R-ratings (with Arad recently stating that a Venom sequel doesn’t need to be R, even with Carnage involved), Tolmach appeared to leave that door open as a possibility for Morbius:
“I don’t think there’s a rule written somewhere in stone that all of them have to be one thing… we have all seen, as you’ve said, the R-rated versions of these [superhero] movies now working. So, that’s out there. You can succeed to a staggering degree.”
In addition to Morbius, numerous projects are in development for Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, including Black Cat, Silver Sable, Nightwatch, Silk, Jackpot and Kraven the Hunter – the latter of which, according to its screenwriter, will also feature an appearance from Spider-Man.
Are you looking forward to seeing Jared Leto as Morbius? Should Sony go with an R-rating? Let us know in the comments below…