Actor Jared Harris portrayed Dr. Emil Nicholas, who serves as the mentor and father figure to Jared Leto’s eponymous character, in Morbius. The movie was a critical and commercial failure, receiving a 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes after 287 reviews and reportedly making $167.5 million at the global box office against a $75–83 million budget. Harris recently joked that he joined the cast for Morbius so he could pay his mortgage.
Jared Harris said yes to Sony’s Morbius ‘to make money’
Harris humorously stated in a recent interview with inews that he agreed to be part of Sony’s Morbius “to make money.” Despite the initial failure, Sony re-released the movie in theaters a few months after its original debut, but it didn’t perform any better the second time.
“I have got a mortgage to pay, you know,” Harris said. “Sometimes you say yes to things because you need to make money.”
When asked about his experience with the project, Harris shared, “I have observed that those types of films do well if you have a sense of humor. You can’t treat it as though it’s Shakespeare. So yeah, that movie could have done with a more mischievous sense of humor.”
Harris’ Emil Nicholas is an important component in Morbius’ narrative. As with Michael Morbius, Emil is the mentor and father figure to Matt Smith as Lucien / Milo, Michael’s surrogate brother. The siblings have a rare blood disease for which Michael wants to find a cure and grows up to become a scientist, After receiving funding from Milo, who is now significantly wealthy, Michael experiments with vampire bats. Although he does develop a cure, it turns him into a vampire.
The cast of Morbius also includes Adria Arjona as Dr. Martine Bancroft, Al Madrigal as Al Rodriguez, and Tyrese Gibson as Simon Stroud. Daniel Espinosa is the director of the movie, with the script penned by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless based on Marvel Comics.
Although the post-credits of Morbius hinted that Sony might have plans for the titular vampire beyond the film, the studio hasn’t since announced a sequel or any other project featuring Leto’s character.
