Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures has announced both Morbius and Ghostbusters 3 release dates during prime season of summer 2020. The currently untitled Ghostbusters film (which will ignore the 2016 reboot and directly follow Ghostbusters 1 & 2) will drop on July 10, 2020, while the Spider-Man spinoff Morbius (following in the footsteps of Venom) bows just three weeks later on July 31, 2020.
Both summer dates are currently without direct competition, although the month will also see Minions 2, an untitled Christopher Nolan film and Disney’s Jungle Cruise in play. Venom 2 is now the unofficial most likely contender for Sony’s other slot for a Marvel film in development, which is October 2, 2020.
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Oscar winner Jared Leto (Suicide Squad, Dallas Buyers Club) will topline Morbius as the living vampire of the title, with Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim: Uprising, Good Omens) and Matt Smith (The Crown,Doctor Who) co-starring.
Morbius is Sony’s adaptation of the Marvel anti-hero Morbius the Living Vampire. The film will be directed by Daniel Espinosa (Life, Safe House) from a script by Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama (Netflix’s Lost in Space), based on the Marvel Comics character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane who first appeared in 1971’s “Amazing Spider-Man” #101.
Originally Dr. Michael Morbius, the scientist character tried to cure his rare blood disease only to become afflicted with a form of vampirism that gave him superior strength, fangs and a taste for the red stuff. The character fought Spider-Man several times, though eventually earned several of his own books where he had a more heroic arc. He has an ongoing feud with the character Blade the Vampire Hunter in the comics. Morbius previously appeared on TV in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Ultimate Spider-Man Vs The Sinister Six, and was originally earmarked to make his film debut in Blade until his cameo was deleted and plans to make him the villain in Blade II scrapped.
Arad and Tolmach will produce the Morbius movie with Lucas Foster, with Sony executive Palak Patel overseeing for the studio. This is one of several Spider-Man spin-off projects in development at Sony, including the recently announced Silk movie, as well as Nightwatch, Black Cat, and Silver Sable.
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Academy Award nominee Jason Reitman (Up in the Air, Juno) will be directing and co-writing the new Ghostbusters movie, taking up the mantle from his father Ivan Reitman who directed the original Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters 2 (1989). The younger Reitman also had a memorable cameo in the second film.
The screenplay will be co-written by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan (Monster House, Poltergeist), with an aim to begin production later this year. While it is currently unknown who of the surviving core Ghostbusters cast (Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Annie Potts, Rick Moranis) will return, it has been reported that Reitman is looking to cast four teen actors (two boys and two girls) in lead roles to tackle supernatural baddies.
In addition to the new sequel, an animated Ghostbusters movie remains in development.
