Even Jared Leto, who describes himself as “a bit of a snob when it comes to film,” realizes as much as everyone else how streaming services and the COVID-19 pandemic have upended the movie theater industry.
In a recent interview with Variety, Leto explained that he’s not sure movie theaters would even be around if it wasn’t for Marvel movies bringing in the crowds.
“If it wasn’t for Marvel films, I don’t even know if theaters would exist,” he says. “It doesn’t seem like there’s room for everyone, and that starts to become a little heartbreaking.”
These statements come as Leto is gearing up to star in a Marvel movie of his own, the upcoming vampire epic Morbius. The movie tells the story of biochemist Dr. Michael Morbius, who is dying of a rare blood disease and inadvertently turns himself into a sort of vampire when a cure goes awry.
“He’s not the quintessential superhero,” says Leto, who has been in the acting industry for 30-plus years and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for 2013’s Dallas Buyers Club. He’s never headlined a superhero movie before, and since there’s never been a Morbius movie before, either, Leto said that’s what really drew him to the role.
“I loved that it was the very first time this character was going to be on screen. I’ve always been interested in transformation, and this was a way to explore that territory in a big Marvel film. It was impossible to say no.”
We’ll get to see Leto sink his teeth into the bloodthirsty character when Morbius hits theaters on April 1.
