To the surprise of nobody but Sony, Morbius sits among the biggest failures in the superhero genre. After a worldwide box office gross of only $156.6 million, the second-lowest audience score in Marvel history, and a laughably poor reception among critics, things are at an all-time low for Sony's Spider-Man universe, despite the success of Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Despite its recent failure, Sony is moving forward full steam ahead with its universe of Spider-Man spin-offs, with solo films now in development for Kraven the Hunter, Madame Web, and El Muerto, on top of a third installment in the Venom franchise. But after the recent failure of Morbius, who knows what the future holds for Jared Leto's hero.
Although, at the time of writing, Morbius isn't even a month old - having only hit theaters on April 1 - the digital release date appears to have been revealed.
Morbius Confirms Digital Release Date
Popular insider Amit Chaudhari reported on Twitter - via the India ticket website Book my Show - that Jared Leto's Morbius will be released on digital platforms on Thursday, May 19.
Does Morbius Have a Marvel Future?
Morbius releasing digitally on May 19 - at least according to this listing - comes 48 days after its theatrical release, sitting roughly in line with the average 45-day window that most studios have followed since the beginning of the pandemic. This is just the beginning of Morbius' post-release journey as it comes to Blu-ray before eventually hitting Netflix and Disney+.
The upcoming digital release will bring to an end a disastrous box office run, marking Morbius as among the biggest failures in Sony's history. Having shelled out $75 million to produce the Marvel flick, not including marketing costs which were presumably hefty due to the two years of delays, Morbius may well have lost Sony money overall.
With the vampire epic having failed to live up to the box office success and positive fan reception of both Venom movies, is Jared Leto's Marvel future in doubt? Well, Morbius 2 is probably off the table, unless Sony feels like taking a major gamble to continue this storyline, but that doesn't mean Leto can't return in other Spider-Man spin-offs in a supporting role.
The post-credits scenes of Morbius teased a future for the vampire hero as Michael Keaton's Vulture arrived from the MCU and recruited Jared Leto's Marvel legend for whatever team he may be forming, presumably the Sinister Six.
Whenever Sony inevitably attempts to unite Venom, Morbius, Kraven, El Muerto, and Madame Web, chances are Leto will reprise his role, but perhaps his Marvel future may not be quite as bright as once planned.
Morbius is playing in theaters now and will release digitally on Thursday, May 19.
