Morbius star Jared Leto and Halloween actress Jamie Lee Curtis are set to join the cast of Disney’s live-action Haunted Mansion movie.
The film will be based on the classic Disney Land and Disney World attraction of the same name. According to Entertainment Weekly, Leto will play the “Hatbox Ghost” while Curtis will play Madame Leota, the psychic whose head appears inside the iconic crystal ball. Haunted Mansion will follow a mother who attempts to exorcise these ghosts and more from the haunted mansion.
Justin Simien helms the project, which will also star Rosario Dawson, LaKeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, and Tiffany Haddish. It will be Disney’s second attempt to put their attraction into the big screen after the 2003 film starring Eddie Murphy.
Haunted Mansion is set to release in the US on March 10, 2023. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get the latest news on film, TV, and more updates around the city!
“I’m attracted to roles where there’s an opportunity to transform – physical transformation, but also mental, emotional, any and all,” says Jared Leto, who is indeed renowned for his transformations. From his Academy Award®-winning performance as Rayon in Dallas Buyers Club to his portrayal of Paolo Gucci in House of Gucci, Leto disappears into his roles, bringing characters to life in ways that can be moving, or terrifying, or enigmatic, but always unforgettable.
In his new film Morbius, based on the Marvel antihero, Leto brings all of these together for his performance as Dr. Michael Morbius, a brilliant doctor with a rare and fatal blood disease, determined to find the cure. Morbius’s genius finds a way not only to cure the illness but to give him unimaginable strength and powers, but at a terrible cost: an uncontrollable thirst for human blood.
“I played Dr. Michael Morbius from his most frail, to his most powerful, to his most monstrous,” Leto continues. “There’s a lot of range in there, so that was really fun to tackle. Not only does the movie have action, stunts, and fighting, but the role itself was taxing. Whenever he is fighting the affliction, he is caught in a crossroads between different parts of the character. It’s like a withdrawal process, a full body experience.”
“Jared Leto was the only actor that could really play the part of Morbius. That wasn’t really a choice – it was predestination,” says Daniel Espinosa, who directs the film.
“Jared is a beautiful actor to work with – he comes to set fully prepared, completely immersed in his character,” adds the director. “He’s become known for his approach to his characters, but it was truly surprising to see how much emotionality he could wrest out of Dr. Michael Morbius. He has a strong dedication, beginning to end, and more than just an actor. He’s a colleague, a partner.”
“I was excited about taking on the challenge of putting a character on screen that had never been on screen before,” says Leto. “It gets harder and harder to find, and that was unique about this – a Marvel character that had never been portrayed outside of a couple of episodes of a Spider-Man cartoon.”
Leto was drawn to the character by the idea that the audience would discover the character as he transforms, and by the challenge of portraying those unusual transformations. “I liked that he had this lofty goal while being frail. But then, he finds the cure and becomes incredibly powerful and strong – he succeeds in that mission only to have everything go wrong,” he concludes. “There’s a lot to discover about this character.”
Exclusively in cinemas across the Philippines starting March 30, Morbius is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #Morbius
From dying to being more alive than ever… but there’s a catch. Jared Leto talks about the incredible transformation of Dr. Michael Morbius in the newly-released vignette for Columbia Pictures’ upcoming Marvel action-thriller Morbius.
Check out the ‘Transformation’ vignette below and watch Morbius exclusively in cinemas across the Philippines on March 30.
One of the most compelling and conflicted characters in Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges?
Dr. Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) in Columbia Pictures’ MORBIUS Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures presents in association with MARVEL, an Avi Arad / Matt Tolmach production, Morbius. Starring Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson. Directed by Daniel Espinosa. Produced by Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, and Lucas Foster. Screen Story and Screenplay by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless. Based on the MARVEL Comics.
Morbius is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #Morbius
From forbidden Marvel character to new Marvel legend. Check out Jared Leto discussing the lore of Morbius in a newly-released featurette below. Watch Columbia Pictures’ action-thriller Morbius, exclusively in Philippine cinemas March 30.
One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges?
Morbius is directed by Daniel Espinosa, story by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless, screenplay by Matt Sazama & Burk Sharpless and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway, based on the Marvel Comics.
Produced by Matt Tolmach, Avi Arad and Lucas Foster. The executive producers are Louise Rosner and Emma Ludbrook.
The film stars Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal with Tyrese Gibson.
Morbius is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #Morbius
