Although it was billed as a box-office failure, Morbius has become a dominant force online as memes of the titular character started flooding social media, specifically with the line, “It’s Morbin’ time!” A play of words with the popular Power Rangers’ battle cry, “It’s Morbin’ time,” has become a joking call for a sequel to the Marvel vampire movie.
Morbius tells the story of a terminally ill biochemist whose attempt to cure his rare blood disease leads him to undergo a procedure that also transforms him into a vampire. Unfortunately, the film didn’t just flop at the box office, it was also critically panned. The only saving grace was the audience reaction, resulting in a 71% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Jared Leto-led film makes it the third film to be part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Its post-credit scenes directly connected it to the MCU as Michael Keaton’s Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming made an appearance, hinting at the creation of the Sinister Six and a team-up against the friendly neighborhood webhead. Although the cameo was widely criticized, Morbius continues Sony’s trend of building up the Sinister Six hype with Kraven the Hunter film set to follow.
While Morbius received a poor reception, the film became a viral hit in the meme culture, inspiring hundreds, if not thousands, of posts. Recently, it was discovered that a Twitch channel was streaming the film for more than 12 hours straight, even piquing the interest of 2,000 viewers.
Fans on Twitter started calling for a sequel, demanding that Jared Leto say the line in his next appearance as the character. However, the disappointing box office reception may indicate that a sequel is off the books. The closest fans can get to another Leto-led Morbius is in a team-up film.
Twitter users also pointed out that the good-natured jokes calling for Morbius 2 may be misinterpreted by Sony, who may give it the green light. So while some are genuinely happy at the prospect of a sequel, it remains to be seen if the Morbin’ vampire will see another standalone film.
Speculations have run around that the Sony-verse may see Morbius join Kraven the Hunter, Vulture, and Venom in a film that may ultimately lead to a showdown with Spider-Man. Although Leto believes his Morbius has a date with destiny with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of the hero seems more likely to step up against the group of villains.
