Latest news with #Morbius
Screen Geek
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Screen Geek
Ari Aster Turned Down Offer To Direct 'Morbius'
Director Ari Aster is known for making his very own unique movies including Hereditary , Midsommar , and the upcoming film Eddington . However, it looks like he once had the opportunity to add a very different kind of movie to his resume. Specifically, Ari Aster reveals that he was offered the chance to direct Sony's Marvel adaptation Morbius . The final version of Morbius that hit theaters, as we all know, became a box office flop. It was one of several failures in Sony's efforts to adapt Spider-Man characters with their own major Marvel franchises, and Jared Leto's portrayal of the titular character became the subject of many memes. This obviously makes one wonder what would've happened if someone like Aster was involved with the project instead of director Daniel Espinosa. Here's what Aster shared via Semafor: 'I was asked to do 'Mobius.' Or is it 'Morbius'? Oh, God,' he said. 'We could have added it to my list of [flops].' It's definitely an interesting layer to unearth regarding the development of Morbius . As mentioned, Daniel Espinosa ultimately directed the film, which failed to resonate with fans of the character and the rest of the Spider-Man franchise. Other Sony films shared similar fates, and their attempt at a universe of Spider-Man villains was finally axed. While having Ari Aster as the director would have certainly provided a much different kind of Morbius movie, it's likely that it still would have underperformed based on what Sony was doing. One must also consider that Aster's movies don't really fit the formula for comic book adaptations, so it could have alienated audiences for that reason as well. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding the future endeavors of Ari Aster as we have them. It's unlikely that we'll see him taking any other offers to direct a superhero movie in the future, but stranger things have certainly happened. In the meantime, fans can look forward to his new movie Eddington that looks like another film with Aster's signature style.
Gizmodo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
We Almost Lived in a Timeline Where ‘Morbius' Was Made by ‘Midsommar' Director Ari Aster
Marvel's perpetually delayed Blade movie, which took on new life as the costuming for Ryan Coogler's Sinners, may never see the light of day. But it's worth remembering we did already get a vampire movie centered on a Marvel character: a certain Dr. Michael Morbius. Midsommar and Hereditary director Ari Aster has now confirmed that at one point, he was asked to direct the Spider-Man spin-off movie, and the mind reels at what might have been. In a recent interview on Semafor's Mixed Signals podcast, Aster, after initially struggling to pronounce the film's name, revealed that Morbius was indeed the project he was invited by Marvel to direct. (Technically, Morbius wasn't part of the MCU; it was part of Sony's web of films adjacent to Spider-Man that didn't actually feature the character.) On paper, hiring Aster, the director behind A24's aforementioned modern horror classics, sounds promising, given the inherent horror in any vampire film. When Semafor's Max Welltani lamented the missed opportunity, noting how Morbius—as directed by Daniel Espinosa—didn't perform well at the box office (it did OK), Aster responded to the what-if in kind, saying, 'We could've added it to my list.' "I feel like I shouldn't say. Should I?"@maxwelltani asks director Ari Aster about a rumor that he was asked to do a Marvel movie on Mixed Signals from Semafor Media: — Semafor (@semafor) July 18, 2025Famously, the studio took the bait that Morbius' internet infamy meant fans must have a genuine craving for morbin' despite the film's sucky opening weekend box office returns. Regardless, the Jared Leto method-acted film showing a pulse for organic online fanfare resulted in Morbius returning to theaters thanks to all the memes. But while the combination of going viral and an unexpectedly sexy evil Matt Smith might not have been enough for cinematic greatness, well—congratulations, Marvel, you got tricked into releasing a vampire movie. While Sony would go on to blame the children (and critics) for being wrong about its Spider-Man franchise building sans Peter Parker, Espinosa took Morbius' bad reviews in stride in a 2022 interview. 'Look, I have a lot of self-hatred so I have a lot of criticism of my own work,' Espinosa told Insider. 'I'm always trying to focus on being better. But I am also proud of what I do. There are parts in all of my movies that I'm really proud of.' In a separate interview with Uproxx, Espinosa was asked how much of Morbius was actually his. 'I think that I work at my best if I get a lot of decision power,' Espinosa said. 'But, in these movies, they're big movies that have a lot of people's interest. It's different processes every time.' While Espinosa didn't directly respond or implicate any studio executives, he did provide insight into what retrospectively seems to be a narrow escape for Aster regarding his association with Morbius. Bullet, or in this case, wooden stake, dodged. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
Spectator
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Spectator
Most people hate their jobs. Get over it
Most people hate their jobs. This is a sad, unfortunate fact of life. But it happens to be an eternal truth. Throughout the course of human history the overwhelmingly bulk of mankind has toiled to live, rather than having the good fortune to follow their dreams. Even when this is the case, when people elect to pursue an artistic, literary, journalistic or thespian vocation, their lives still consist for the most part of drudgery, penury, rejection and disappointment. Jared Harris says that people in his profession need to take parts they don't love if they 'have bills to pay' So we should welcome the intervention by the actor Jared Harris, who says that people in his profession need to take the parts they don't love if they 'have bills to pay'. Speaking of his decision to star in Marvel's much-maligned movie Morbius, the Bafa-winning star, 63, tells this week's Radio Times that it's 'quite rare that something comes along that ticks all the boxes'. He made that particular decision out of the need to pay off his mortgage: 'You've got bills to pay. You've got people you have to look after.' Securing a role in the iconic TV series Mad Men was a fortuitous one-off, he elaborates, an exceptional event that saw him land a 'great part with a great director', in something well-written and seen by many. 'Maybe three times in your whole career it's going to be something like that, if you're lucky.' It says something of unrealistic employment expectations today that Harris's disclosure warranted a news story in itself; it was picked up by the Daily Telegraph, while he made the same 'confession' to the i paper last September, about the straitened financial circumstances that impelled him to take that fantasy role. Yet this revelation will strike no veteran freelancer as remotely newsworthy. Taking on jobs to pay the bills is what self-employed professionals do, and actors have forever taken on roles beneath them. Sometimes they don't even need to, yet in conducting themselves in accordance with professional duty and habit, many find unlikely success in unexpected fields and among new audiences. To me and my late-Generation X contemporaries Alec Guinness was forever Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, while Sir Patrick Stewart is Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation. There's nothing remarkable or novel about a respected thespian venturing into the gaudy universe of science-fiction and fantasy. Yet the insinuation that Jared Harris has demeaned himself artistically by doing so has occurred in an age in which many suffer from the delusion that they can follow their heart's desires, adhering authentically to dreams untainted by commercialism. Harris may have temporarily transported himself into a fantasy Marvel universe, but generations now have been encouraged to live in fantasy worlds of their own. For decades, we have seen the evolution and dissemination of the delusory self-help philosophy that 'you can do anything if you put your mind to it', a mantra that for the vast majority will result in an brutal crashing back down to earth. This late-20th century myth of unbounded human potential has become even more phantasmagoric in a 21st-century world apparently teeming with successful 'creative types' and influencers, an ostensible plethora which has given added weight to the chimera that enjoying your job should be your goal and expectation. Even the current Employment Rights Bill, containing its notorious crackdown on 'banter' and offensive overheard remarks, rests on the assumption that the workplace should be an enriching environment in which all discomfort and unpleasantness is banished. Yet working for a living is largely an inherently unpleasant and demeaning affair, even for those in the public eye who it is assumed everything is fine and dandy. When the actor Michael Madsen died last week aged 67, the obituaries reminded us of the cult status he attained in portraying the sadistic Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Yet the newspapers also recalled the series of forgettable roles he subsequently took out of necessity: 'People forget that sometimes you have to pay the mortgage, sometimes you have to put your kids through school. You can't always pick the greatest script.' Madsen simply followed in the footsteps of such thespian titans as Richard Burton, who famously followed the path of base expedience after his heyday in the 1960s, a trajectory that culminated in his appearance in Exorcist II (1977), regarded as one of the worst films ever, or less egregiously Maggie Smith, who said of her appearances in Downton Abbey and the Harry Potter films that they weren't 'really acting' roles and not 'what you'd call satisfying'. On balance, 'not satisfying' is probably the median assessment everyone in the world has about their job. Taking less than ideal assignments is what all self-employed professionals do, and in this respect Jared Harris has dispensed a timely, exemplary lesson for our often indolent and misguided youth: earning a living mostly isn't fun.
Black America Web
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Black America Web
Cassius Gems: Rumored New ‘Wonder Woman' Adria Arjona's Most Stunning Instagram Moments
Source: Stephane Cardinale – Corbis / Getty Who you choose to follow on social media is crucial, but when you're a movie director like James Gunn, hitting that follow button could reveal a major casting decision. A rumor has been floating around that Gunn may choose Adria Arjona as the next Wonder Woman to replace Gal Gadot. Suspicions became more concrete when she was spotted in his Instagram following list, so Extra asked Gunn about it while he was making the media rounds for the latest Superman movie. Of course, he coyly avoided a straightforward answer, saying, 'I follow Adria on Instagram but everybody came out [and said], 'He just followed her, that means she's Wonder Woman,'' Gunn said. He added, 'She'd be a great Wonder Woman, by the way.' Certainly not helping his case, he brings up that he worked with Arjona on one of his films a few years ago, confirming they already have a working relationship. 'She was in a movie that I made seven years ago. We've been friends and have known each other since that time. I followed her then, I didn't just follow her,' he added. The movie he's referring to is Greg McLean's The Belko Experiment , which was released in 2016 and written by Gunn. Back in April, social media had already noticed that he'd double-tapped some of Arjona's photos, and Cinemablend asked her about the Wonder Woman casting rumor; she, too, avoided a proper answer by praising him. 'I love James Gunn. He gave me my first movie ever, which was like my first studio movie,' Arjona responded. 'So I owe him a lot.' However, when pressed further on whether the social media follow meant anything, the actress crossed her fingers and said, 'I don't know.' The Puerto Rico native may have gotten her first big film nod from Gunn, but she's carried that momentum into other roles in Pacific Rim Uprising , 6 Underground , Morbius , and Father Of The Bride . She also served as a beloved character in Star Wars: Andor, and fans are eagerly awaiting her return to the comic book world. While she hasn't been named as the next Wonder Woman yet, get to know her better through her Instagram photos below. Cassius Gems: Rumored New 'Wonder Woman' Adria Arjona's Most Stunning Instagram Moments was originally published on
USA Today
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
James Gunn responds to fans eyeing Adria Arjona as Wonder Woman
There are no bad ideas in James Gunn's DC Universe. The filmmaker and co-CEO of DC Studios addressed the fan recasting of actress Adria Arjona as Wonder Woman, after some recent speculation based on his social media following. But Gunn clarified that despite the buzz, nothing is in motion – yet. "I follow Adria on Instagram, but everybody came out (and thought), 'He just followed her, that means she's Wonder Woman,'" Gunn told Extra in a recent sitdown. "She'd be a great Wonder Woman, by the way." The pair have previously worked together on the horror thriller "The Belko Experiment" in 2016, which Gunn and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran produced together. "She was in a movie that I made ... We've been friends and have known each other since that time," Gunn added. "I followed her then, I didn't just follow her." Arjona's other film credits include "Father of the Bride," "True Detective" Season 2, Marvel's "Morbius" and "Hit Man." 'Superman' first look: Meet the intrepid staff of the Daily Planet In June, Gunn told Entertainment Weekly that a new Wonder Woman film was "being written right now," in addition to an HBO series about the superhero's home of Themyscira. The role of the Amazonian heroine in the DC Extended Universe has previously been played by Gal Gadot, in the 2017 film "Wonder Woman," its 2020 sequel "Wonder Woman 1984" as well as the ensemble film "Justice League" in 2017 (and its reworked Snyder Cut in 2021). The films were produced before Gunn's takeover of DC Studios and the pivot to a more unified DC Universe, in a new slate for the film studio that officially kicks off with "Superman," written and directed by Gunn, set for release in theaters July 11.
