Culture

‘Morbius’ Continues To Be The Meme The Internet Refuses To Let Die

"If you were to once again release 'Morbius' in theatres, just let us know, and we will be there for sure."

by Millie Roberts  17 June 2022
Morbius

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The internet is once again refusing to let the heavily memed film Morbius finally die its long overdue death.

A petition with over 28,000 signatures is calling on cinemas globally to air the Jared Leto flick for a third time, as if the collective shitposter efforts to drag Morbius from the grave for a second screening weren’t bad enough.

“Dear Sony,” the petition reads. “This [month], excited fans across the world had the chance to once again see Morbius in the theatres.”

“While this was an awesome opportunity, there was one problem: we were all busy,” said organiser Ian Hinden, citing that some people were washing their hair, others were studying, or had pre-committed plans they simply could not miss.

“Please don’t interpret this as disinterest on our part. If you were to once again release Morbius in theatres, just let us know, and we will be there for sure. Unless something comes up.”

The superhero film released back in April follows Dr Michael Morbius, played by Leto, who turns into a vampire who keeps hurting people, but then has a change of heart. It’s kind of like the plot of Hotel Transylvania: Transformania but with a worse Google rating.

Morbius was so disliked on such a viral scale that Sony mistook the joke attention for critical acclaim, and re-ran it a second time earlier this month — only for it to flop again. All publicity is good publicity, hey?

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Everyone Is Roasting Jared Leto's Questionable Acting In 'Morbius'

A review after the initial screening described Morbius as a “forgettable, often laughable, entry in Sony’s attempt to fill its own Spider-Man-adjacent cinematic universe, a poorly edited, derivative time suck — pun intended.” Despite this, the #MorbiusSweep movement comically pretended the film was a hit, leading to the catchphrase “It’s Morbin’ Time”, despite garnering a one star rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Of course, this isn’t the first time the infamous method actor has had his livelihood questioned — Leto was forced to defend his appearance in House of Gucci at the start of the year, and, after a tough followup to Heath Ledger’s live action Joker in the Batman franchise, was accused of ruining the Suicide Squad for his mischievous and quirky depiction of the villain in 2016.

Morbius was also released on DVD and Blu-ray on Tuesday, if anyone feels inclined to host a Morbin’ good time with their loved ones from the comfort of home.