Ari Aster, director of the upcoming film Eddington, has disclosed that he was approached by Marvel to direct the 2022 film Morbius, which was a critical and commercial failure. In an interview with Semafor, Aster confirmed the rumour, though he initially struggled to recall the film's name, asking, “Is it Mobius or Morbius?”
The film, starring Jared Leto as Dr Morbius, a scientist with a rare blood disorder who turns to a risky cure, was ultimately directed by Daniel Espinosa. It holds a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 15 percent, making it one of the lowest-rated Marvel films. Its box office debut earned $39.1 million in the US and $84 million globally.
Espinosa, when asked about negative feedback, told Insider, “I have a lot of self-hatred so I have a lot of criticism of my own work. I’m always trying to focus on being better. But I am also proud of what I do.” He added, “It’s a strange thing to make something that is so public. There are parts in all of my movies that I’m really proud of.”
The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey gave the film an unfavourable review, writing, “Somewhere in the middle of Morbius, a film about a Spider-Man villain that does not feature Spider-Man, I was ready to tap out... It’s too much effort, with too little reward.”
