Tyrese Is Reportedly Joining 'Spider-Man' Spinoff 'Morbius'

Tyrese Gibson will join Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, and Jared Harris in the upcoming film centered around the 'Spider-Man' villain.

March 6, 2019

tyrese gibson morbius — Image via Getty/Paul Archuleta
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Fast & Furious veteran Tyrese Gibson is reportedly joining Jared Leto in the upcoming Spider-Man spinoff film Morbius, per the Hollywood Reporter.

Made by Sony, Morbius will be centered around the Spider-Man villain of the same name. Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, and Jared Harris are all reportedly starring the project, and Daniel Espinosa of Safe House will be directing the film. Jared Leto, who's making his jump from DC to Marvel, took to Instagram to share his excitement for the upcoming project. He then posted a teaser photo from set on Twitter, writing "1 week down...11 to go."

The title character was created in 1971 for the The Amazing Spider-Man #101. Dr. Michael Morbius' character is a scientist who has a blood disease, which he tried to cure to disastrous results. Through his attempted treatment he contracted vampire-like symptoms including the trademark fangs, a hunger for blood, and superhuman strength.

While Leto is set to play Morbius, Gibson is reportedly playing one of the last leading roles—an FBI agent hunting down the title character, because every action movie needs one. Matt Smith, of Netflix's The Crown, will be playing the film's villain, Loxias Crown, with Arjona taking the stage as Morbius' love interest, and Harris, who also stars in The Crown, will play the wise, mentor figure.

In 1992, Morbius' character was reanimated in the series of comics Morbius, the Living Vampire. The film, which started production last week, is slated to hit theaters on July 31, 2020.