With “Morbius” Sony is sending the next comic blockbuster with a Marvel character into the race, which is also set in Spider-Man’s world. Our author was able to watch the lead actor Jared Leto filming in London.
Get off at Wembley Park Underground Station in London, apart from the famous Wembley Stadium, there seems to be nothing particularly worth seeing: A Starbucks branch and a large food court are within walking distance and everything else looks pretty ordinary. And here with “Morbius” the next Hollywood comic adaptation based on the Marvel model is to be created with a multi-million dollar budget?
Somehow I can’t believe that I’m in the right place. But a short walk later I discover a small sign on the gray, inconspicuous facade of a building surrounded by McDonald’s, LIDL and JD Sports: “Fountain Studios”. I am actually at the right address! A little later I was brought with a group of other journalists across a back yard into the halls of the former TV studio and into a room there. The set visit can begin!
Who or what is “Morbius”?
First of all, some basic information: “Morbius” will be loosely based on the Marvel comics “Morbius, The Living Vampire”, which are set in the same world as Spider-Man. As the title of the template suggests, it is about Dr. Michael Morbius (in the film he is played by Oscar winner Jared Leto), a brilliant scientist who suffers from an extremely rare disease. To find an antidote, he experiments with bats, but time is of the essence. But one day he finally seems to have made it. But like so many drugs, his latest discovery comes with side effects – and after taking it, Morbius has to live as a vampire with extraordinary abilities and an insatiable thirst for blood …
First details about “Morbius”
Immediately after entering the room, we noticed numerous concept drawings that were attached to various walls and that already provide a first impression of the sets and scenes. Lucas Foster, one of the producers of the film, tells us the first little plot details and explains what we are actually seeing in front of us. But first, “Welcome to London while we pretend we’re in Manhattan.”
One of the drawings shows the “Horizon Lab”, the laboratory of Dr. Morbius, which is on top of “a very cool building” and where the protagonist is doing research. He has a special cage for bats that he can bring to him at any time, whenever he wants to work with them. “He is desperately looking for a solution,” explains Foster, “his work is at the limit of what is ethically justifiable, which is why he even turned down the Nobel Prize.”
Nevertheless, he is given tons of resources and money to carry out a crazy experiment on the high seas. Foster shows us a small model of a set that shows a large storage room on a ship, which in turn contains a separate container where Morbius and his friend and colleague Martine Bancroft (Adria Arjona) work. The ship is guarded by heavily armed mercenaries. Then events roll over and there is a big action sequence that Foster describes as “cool, epic and terrifying”.
Also on display on the ship is a kind of centrifuge that Morbius uses to create the healing serum. Part of the machine is in the room with us and can be examined at close range.
“Learned a lot about blood”
“We learned a lot about blood and I now know everything about it and what you can do with it,” Foster reveals to us, not without a little smile, how the research for the film went. After all, a bloodsucker has to be portrayed who also gets into a serious moral conflict – Morbius has taken the Hippocratic oath, but needs blood to stay strong. In any case, the film “Morbius” will be an origin story, in which the beginnings of the comic book character should be felt on the tooth.
For us, however, we are now going specifically to the beginning of the film, because on this day the opening sequence of “Morbius” will be filmed in the Fountain Studios. For this purpose, we reporters are divided into two groups: One can admire the filming at close range directly on the set, the other is brought into a so-called monitor room, where the recordings from three different cameras are broadcast live on a large television – later they are swapped .
The set was set up in a huge, round hall and is surrounded on all sides by a green screen. In the middle there is an artificial, rocky plateau, at the end of which there is a cave entrance. There are some boxes around – and a helicopter Jared Leto is getting out of. Since his character Morbius is still ill at the time of the action, he walks with a heavy step on two crutches.
First of all, it is only recorded how Leto runs from the flight vehicle towards the cave entrance and talks to his henchmen. This is a single, longer shot without a cut – so the whole way is filmed in one go.
Jared Leto’s mistake
It is perfectly normal when shooting a film that several shots are made of a single scene – or it just takes a few tries to get everything right. But even after director Daniel Espinosa “Cut!” shouted, superstar Leto doesn’t make a face. Consistent and highly focused, he mentally remains in the figure of Michael Morbius and maintains his wobbly crutch even when he has to go back to the beginning. “Jared has prepared very well, spent a lot of time on crutches and with sick people to study their gait,” explains Louise Rosner, also a producer at “Morbius”.
But even with a superstar, things don’t always go like clockwork: During our visit, Leto messed up several recordings in a row because he either made a mistake or forgets his text. You can’t blame him, because after all he has to give a little scientific monologue on bats in the scene, including difficult terminology. But the blunders don’t cause a laugh and even the supporting actors stay focused. Before each new recording, we can watch Leto and listen as he quietly recites his text – until it says: “Action!”
After a few tries, the first part of the opening sequence is in the box. Before the next set of takes, things get hectic on the set. While a recording is in progress, everyone is in their position, others stay in the background and, with the exception of the noises and conversations for the film itself, it is as quiet as a mouse. But now the employees are scurrying around, long ladders and other bulky objects are being carried around and the large camera crane is also being moved – we journalists are a little in the way.
Meanwhile, a new, retractable prop is being set up at the end of the artificial rock formation, which will represent a special bat trap in the film. With their help (and a drop of blood) Morbius wants to capture the flying animals for his research purposes. Meanwhile, Jared Leto discusses the next scene and then it starts again. Everyone in their places, the next shot is pending, in which Leto cut himself with a machete in order to use his blood as bait. Clouds of mist rise from the rock, but even now there is a tiny complication: During a recording, fake blood simply does not want to flow. But this problem is also quickly resolved. Then the shoot continues, using new camera angles that now capture the action at close range.
Everything in the box – for the day
After a few attempts, this moment is also turned off. Then the first part is filmed again, in which Leto and the other actors get out of the helicopter. Again, the film is shot from completely different perspectives and I can already imagine how all these different shots will end up in the editing room and how they will assemble the best version. At the end of the day of shooting, Jared Leto stands alone with the sound engineer on the set to simply speak a few sentences without a scene partner.
This is the end of the day for us. Together we will be led back from the site, leaving the world of Hollywood blockbusters and Marvel films behind us. Back on the streets of London, life goes on as normal and it is hard to believe that we have just been in a completely different sphere. One that will soon conquer the cinemas after several postponements: According to the current status, “Morbius” will be released on January 27, 2022. Of course, everything can change again at short notice due to the corona.
This content was first published by TVSPIELFILM.de.