Spiderman 4 will introduce Morbius to Raimi’s universe?
The latest rumor floating around Hollywood comes directly from the mouth of Sam Raimi who has recently expressed interest in making Morbius the newest addition to the Spiderman film family. Following the flop (well critically not financially) of Spiderman 3 I think Raimi is taking his vision much more seriously this time around and not being so easily persueded by pushy studio execs throwing “fan favorites” down his throat.
Raimi says in this months issue of Empire:
I like it in the Marvel comics when Spider-Man fights Morbius, said Raimi. He’s really cool. A vampire! I like that combination of superhero plus supernatural.
I think Morbius would make a lot of sense as a villain seeing that Raimi has been keeping The Lizard storyline going since the second film with Doc Connors popping up every once in awhile. He’s been teasing us with his appearances and the fans have been begging for a glimpse of the lizard in all it’s reptilian glory. As a rabid comic book dork from my childhood I can relate the two characters because they’re both born using the same “neogenic” technology which basically translates to gene splicing in the Marvel universe. Morbius crosses his DNA with that of a vampire bat on accident causing him to crave plasma in order to survive and Doc Connor crosses his with that of a lizard in an attempt to regrow the limb he lost during the war. As you can assume, both experiments go awry, but leave us with two villains who Spiderman can relate to and therefore see a softer side of.
This is not unlike the fan favorite film of Spiderman 2 when Raimi showed the emotional strain between Doc Oc and Spiderman so it could definitely work quite well. Also, since the lizard and Morbius’ back stories are so similar the usual complaint of multiple villains in a comic book film can be thrown out because if Raimi plays his cards right he should be able to explain the two in a cohesive manner and allow the audience to still fall in love with the villains human counterparts like in Spyd 2.
Also, for those who complain about Dunst’s portrayal of the fabulous Mary Jane this will allow us a chance to be introduced to Felicia Harding (who’s other identity is the costumed crusader known as The Black Cat). It will also give Raimi the chance to introduce a conflict in the love life of Peter Parker because in their public appearances Felicia Harding and Michael Morbius are lovers, but once the masks go on The Black Cat and Spiderman have an unspoken bond/passion that is very obvious in their flirting and eventually blows up in Peter’s face when MJ finds out (not to mention when Morbius finds out).
Either way though, I’m very excited for this announcement and will be following this film very closely. Say what you will about Raimi, but I believe in him still and know that he has some kick ass Spiderman story lines still up his sleeve. So remove Spiderman 3 from your mind and start getting pumped for the next installment in the Spiderman franchise!
Leave some comments if you have any thoughts about who could be cast in the role of Morbius.
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Author: Matt Peloquin (21 Articles)
Since I was a boy I've been completely obsessed with the world of film. My first viewing of Toy Story led me into the area of animation particularly, but since than I've branched out to become more of a cinephile than just an effects artist. I attended Rochester Institute of Technology for Network Security with a minor in creative writing where I elected to take mostly film related courses. I also attended Gnomon School of Visual Effects where I developed my passion for the illusion of effects in relation to films. Some of my favorite films include Children of Men, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Back to the Future, The Big Lebowski, The Fountain, Pitch Black, The Wackness, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Wizard of Oz, Clerks, The Abyss, and Into the Wild. I am a true fanatic of film and would like to use my involvement in Iconocritic.com to be introduced to others as passionate as I am about my pursuit. To name just a few of the people I've followed throughout my life that I've extracted so much aspired value from would have to be Stan Winston, James Cameron, Darren Aronofsky, Kevin Smith, Charlie Kaufmann, John Lasseter, and Joel and Ethan Coen because each and every one of them worked their way from the bottom to the top without relying on their family inherited connections to the industry; something I greatly admire.
10 Jan 2009, 12:07 am
Awesome article dude! I didn’t even know Morbius was being considered, but this is definitely good news. Still disappointed at the retarded Venom dumb-down. Oh BTW Gwen Stacy isn’t Blackcat, it was Felicia Hardy, but if Sam Raimi decides to make Gwen Blackcat that would be interesting and different.
10 Jan 2009, 1:57 am
Oops my bad! I meant Felicia…got my marvel blondes confused…won’t happen again.
10 Jan 2009, 2:14 am
It’s also interesting how you mention Venom because I think Spidey 3 was supposed to skyrocket Topher Grace’s film career following his hit show (as it was supposed to for Haden Church following Sideways). They got offered these high profile Hollywood flicks with hopes of them skyrocketing two up and coming actors careers, but instead ended up burying the two (can you name something popular since Spiderman 3 that Grace or Church have been in?) So maybe Venom is all Grace has left now, but I agree with you that it’s a sad attempt to try and save a career that was destroyed with the very same character.
I just hope the same doesn’t happen with Mickey Rouke getting the lead villain in Iron Man 2 following his great performance in The Wrestler. I guess we’ll wait to see if it makes him (like Downey and Bale) or breaks him (like Bana, Grace, or Church).
Don’t you love how comic book films can define an actor’s career nowadays…oh the power the fanboys yield.
15 Jan 2009, 6:39 am
Haha Yea, your totally right on the actor’s career being defined by comic book films nowadays… I personally loved the 70′s show, among other millions fans. So it was a treat to hear Topher’s Eric Foreman make hilarious comments like being “Spider-man.” I remember saying to myself (out loud at that) “HEY ERIC YOUR GONNA BE VENUM DUDE!! ROCK ON!” But as you stated… his whole career is pretty much buried… Really sad, considering that I liked to see more from him.
26 May 2009, 11:43 pm
You know there is a free Spiderman game for the pc? The game has Spiderman, Carnage, Venom and more characters from Marvel, X-men, Justice League, and more. It is called MUGEN.
10 Jul 2010, 12:20 am
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