Jared Leto to play Spider-Man villain Morbius, the Living Vampire, in new spin-off film; actor confirms on Instagram

Oscar winner Jared Leto, is set to star in the Spider-Man spin-off Morbius based on the villain of the same name, reports Variety_._  Marvel villain Morbius first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #101 in 1971 as a scientist named Dr. Michael Morbius, who acquires vampire-like traits after a failed experiment on himself to cure a blood disease. The movie is set to give him an antihero treatment instead of a villain. [caption id=“attachment_4618091” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Jared Leto will play Morbius in a new spin-off. Image via Twitter[/caption] According to the report, the project backed by Sony will be directed by Safe House director Daniel Espinosa_._ Daniel has previously directed Sony’s science fiction thriller  Life  starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ryan Reynolds. Daniel and Leto apparently met in Germany last month, while Jared was touring with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars to finalise the project. The movie will be produced by Avi Arad, Lucas Foster and Matt Tolmach. Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama, who had teamed up for Netflix’s  Lost In Space  series have penned the final script for the film. Jared Leto posted the cover of the 2012 Marvel NOW! series Morbius: The Living Vampire  on Instagram to celebrate the confirmation of his role in the film. Fans are speculating if the script of the film follow this series, which saw the villain break out of prison seeking redemption. It was also recently reported that he would star in and executive produce a Joker standalone film , a spin-off of the Suicide Squad franchise after he got pitiable screen time in the film.