2019 may have just begun, but 2020 is already shaping up to be a memorable year for horror cinema, as the Morbius movie and new Ghostbusters film now have release dates in 2020 from Sony.
According to Exhibitor Relations, Morbius (based on the Spider-Man villain Morbius the Living Vampire) is set to come out on July 31st, 2020, with the new Ghostbusters slated for a July 10th, 2020 theatrical release.
Variety recently reported that Matt Smith (perhaps best known for playing the Eleventh Doctor in Doctor Who) is "in final talks" to play a yet-to-be-revealed "major role" in the Morbius movie.
Last June, multiple sources, including Variety, previously reported that Jared Leto will play the titular character in a Morbius movie directed by Daniel Espinosa (Life, Safe House). Leto has reportedly been interested in bringing the character to life on screen for a while, but wanted to make sure that he was on the same creative page with whoever directed the project. Espinosa and Leto had a meeting, their creative visions gelled, and now they are both moving forward on the film.
Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Lucas Foster will produce Morbius, with Palak Patel overseeing the film. Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (whose writing credits include Dracula Untold, The Last Witch Hunter, and the new Lost in Space reboot series) wrote a screenplay centered on the character Morbius the Living Vampire, aka Dr. Michael Morbius, a scientist who accidentally transformed himself into a bloodthirsty creature of the night. Created by Roy Thomas and Gil Kane, Morbius made his paneled page debut in Amazing Spider-Man #101.
Morbius is also set in the same universe as Venom, which has a sequel slated for October 2nd, 2020.
When it comes to the next installment of the ectoplasmic franchise, son of Ghostbusters (and Ghostbusters 2) director Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman previously told EW that the new movie will take place in the same universe as the 1984 classic.
“This is the next chapter in the original franchise. It is not a reboot. What happened in the ‘80s happened in the ‘80s, and this is set in the present day.”
Plot details are being kept under wraps, but with Dan Aykroyd continuing to beat the drum for all things Ghostbusters, we imagine at least some of the original cast will be returning as their original characters. Reitman will be co-writing the screenplay with Gil Kenan and Variety is reporting that filming will begin this summer,j expect to hear much more about casting and the plot over the next few months.
We'll keep Daily Dead readers updated on Morbius and the new Ghostbusters as more details are revealed.
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
