Morbius Star Tyrese Reveals New Details About Joining the Marvel Universe As a Superhero

Morbius star Tyrese Gibson opens up about his role as FBI Agent Simon Stroud in the Daniel Espinosa-directed comic book movie, his “first time ever officially being a superhero.” Set in Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, home to Venom and upcoming sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the Marvel Comics-inspired Morbius pits Gibson’s armed Stroud against biochemist Michael Morbius (Jared Leto), who is infected with a form of vampirism in his desperate attempt to cure a rare and life-threatening blood disease. Using a hi-tech weapons-grade arm, Stroud will hunt the living vampire alongside fellow FBI Agent Alberto Rodriguez (Al Madrigal).

“My character was originally white, and they made him black. But I like to say he was a white guy who got a really good tan,” Gibson joked in an interview with Maxim, where the Transformers and Fast & Furious star said his superhero upgrade “has all kinds of special effects and powers, and that’s going to mess people up when they see this movie.”

Gibson noted Morbius is “my first time ever officially being a superhero. I’ve done some superhero sh-t,” he said, referring to superhuman stunts in the blockbuster Fast & Furious saga, “but I ain’t never been a superhero. I had to explain this to my daughter.”

Stroud first appeared in a 1974 Marvel comic book, where he pursued another man-turned-monster — the cursed Man-Wolf — before pursuing and sometimes teaming up with Morbius, a villain and often anti-hero most commonly associated with Spider-Man.

Morbius is adjacent to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where Spider-Man (Tom Holland) defeated Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the high-flying Vulture, in Spider-Man: Homecoming. The jailed Toomes appears in the first trailer for Morbius, hinting Marvel and Sony’s respective cinematic universes are more closely connected than previously believed. Later surfaced set photos revealed a connection to Spider-Man: Far From Home, which ended with Spider-Man framed for the murder of Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal).

One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero, Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder, and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. What at first appears to be a radical success soon reveals itself to be a remedy potentially worse than the disease.

Morbius was scheduled to open July 31 before Sony reconfigured its film slate amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis. On March 31, Sony Pictures shifted Morbius to its new date of March 19, 2021.