Jared Leto Calls Morbius a Movie “We All Need Right Now”

Jared Leto says his "big, fun" popcorn movie Morbius is the kind of entertainment "we all need right now." Part of Sony's Spider-Man spin-off universe, Morbius moved from summer 2020 to spring 2021 before a schedule reshuffling bumped the Marvel Comics adaptation to 2022. After his pared-down role as the Joker in 2016's DC Comics movie Suicide Squad, Leto's starring turn as a Marvel anti-hero is the Academy Award-winning actor's first "fun action-adventure-type film." In an interview with SiriusXM for his new movie The Little Things, Leto says he's excited for audiences to sink their teeth into Morbius — only in theaters:

"I'm so excited for people to see Morbius. I'm so excited. It's the kind of film I feel like we all need right now: just a big, fun, popcorn get-in-the-theater, turn the lights down, let's have some fun [movie]," Leto said. "I'm excited about it. It's a brand-new character who's never been on screen before."

In Morbius, Leto plays Dr. Michael Morbius — a "frail and thin" biochemist afflicted with a rare blood disorder he attempts to treat through experimental science. When he inadvertently infects himself with a form of vampirism, Morbius becomes a living vampire who preys on criminals to curb his growing bloodlust.

"He becomes really strong and powerful. And then there's another side of it all, there's a Jekyll and Hyde thing. So it's transformative, it's different, just a big, fun, popcorn movie," Leto said. "I'm excited about it. I've never done anything like it. I've never really starred in a big, giant, fun action-adventure-type film before. So for me, it was a huge new challenge."

Now starring as suspected serial killer Albert Sparma opposite Denzel Washington and Rami Malek in The Little Things, Leto says his Marvel role was an opportunity to see "if we could put a challenging, transformative performance into a film like [Morbius]."

"It's not Albert Sparma, it's a whole different challenge for me. In a way, it was even harder to pull off because I'm not used to that sort of thing," Leto said. "I mean, I can count on one hand the amount of times I've used my own speaking voice in a role, so that took some getting used to."

Starring Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Al Madrigal, Tyrese Gibson, and Jared Harris, Sony Pictures' Morbius is scheduled to open in theaters on January 21, 2022.