Sony delays ‘Morbius’ to April as Omicron surges

LOS ANGELES

Sony Pictures will move the release of Marvel superhero “Morbius” by three months, the studio said on Jan. 3, Variety has reported. The film, part of Sony’s Spider-Man cinematic universe, will debut on April 1 instead of on Jan. 28.

It’s not the first time that “Morbius” has had to postpone its red-carpet premiere. The film was supposed to debut on July 10, 2020, but COVID-19 had other ideas.

As the pandemic has raged, “Morbius” has cycled through release dates at various points it has been scheduled to open on July 31, 2020, then March 19, 2021, then Oct. 8, 2021, and finally moving Jan. 21, 2022, before shifting yet again to the Jan. 28 date that it just vacated. Omicron is just the latest unexpected twist in a pandemic that just refuses to go away.

In its new release date, “Morbius” will face off against “Easter Sunday,” a comedy with Jimmy O. Yang and Tiffany Haddish, as well as the Chris Pine thriller “The Contractor.”

Sony just scored massive box office successes with both “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” so it makes sense that it would try to give “Morbius” a longer runway at a time when the public health situation is complicating things.

The studio is also planning another standalone spinoff based on Spidey villain Kraven the Hunter, so the stakes are high. Sony licenses the Spider-Man character and the rights to his various antagonists and allies from Marvel in a deal that pre-dates the comic book company’s major move into moviemaking and its acquisition by the Walt Disney Company.

In the film, Jared Leto plays antihero Michael Morbius, who attempts a desperate gamble in order to treat a rare blood discoed, one that makes him more familiar with a darkness inside of him. “Morbius” is directed by Daniel Espinosa and co-stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal and Tyrese Gibson.