Morbius takes flight for the first time in a new clip from the superhero blockbuster shared by Sony Pictures Entertainment.
The Living Vampire, played by Jared Leto, experiments with his newly discovered ability to glide in the scene, which Sony released online. Morbius’ other quasi-vampiric powers in the movie include super strength, hypnotism and a healing factor powerful enough to recover from gunshot wounds, getting hit by a car and everything in-between.
Michael Morbius may take to the air in the new clip, but his big screen debut isn’t exactly soaring at the box office. Morbius recently set a new record for the biggest second-weekend drop ever. The flick only made $2.95 million at the domestic box office heading into its second weekend — an 83 percent drop from the previous Friday. Its projected total gross for that period was $9.9 million, which would itself mark a 75 percent decrease from Morbius‘ $39 million opening weekend.
Although the Living Vampire appears to be losing the battle of the box office, Morbius director Daniel Espinosa insists the character could defeat Marvel Cinematic Universe heavyweight Doctor Strange. In a fight, at least. Espinosa cited a moment in the comics where Morbius was on the verge of beating the Master of the Mystic Arts to support his claims, in a recent interview. “I love the moment where he sucks out the life energy of Doctor Strange,” he said. “I just kept pounding that to all the executives, like, ‘You don’t get it. This guy has been on the verge of beating Doctor Strange! This is not a nobody.’ And we don’t really know the ends of his powers.”
But whether Morbius could come out on top in a tussle with Doctor Strange, he’s already been pummeled into submission by critics. The movie, which is part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, opened to near-universal negative reviews. Many reviews of Morbius were scathing, with the script and visual effects coming in for particular criticism.
Espinosa recently revealed he hasn’t shied away from reading Morbius‘ bad reviews, either. “I just ask my friends to send me the ones that they think are clever. I mean, good or bad,” he said. “And then I get a bunch of clever stuff and the stuff that my friends don’t think is clever, maybe it’s just healthy for me to read. So, it is that. You make a movie that is supposed to be public. I mean, it’s part of the fundamental concept of what you’re doing, but it’s always very strange.”
Morbius is currently in cinemas.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment, via YouTube