What on earth would Ari Aster’s ‘Morbius’ have looked like?
Marvel has had its fair share of flops and disappointments over the years, with the studio recently announcing that they would reduce their number of annual projects, no doubt in response to their many stories that quickly faded into obscurity. Many of their projects have fallen victim to poor writing and pacing, a fate that unfortunately plagued their 2022 film Morbius, starring Jared Leto and Matt Smith.
Unluckily enough for the Marvel and Sony team, the film was not designed for success from the beginning, with an unfortunate post-pandemic release that meant few people were visiting the cinema and were unwilling to trek outside for a standalone story that had nothing to do with their most beloved characters. It was a risk that didn’t pay off, and was all the more unsuccessful as a result of the shoddy script, VFX, and performances from the central cast.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa, it seemed as though the filmmaker wasn’t given any of the ideal circumstances to create something of value and substance, something that might have been different in the hands of another director. Surprisingly, Ari Aster recently revealed that he was originally asked by the studio to direct the film, and even though he obviously declined this opportunity, it is interesting to ponder over what could’ve been had the A24 horror director added his touch to the story.
Known for cult classic horror films like Midsommar and Hereditary, Aster found his name through dark and surrealist stories that are often realised as the trauma created through strained familial relationships in a horror setting. While he has expanded this style over recent years, describing Beau is Afraid as the story he had been waiting his entire career to make and recently venturing into new waters through his pandemic drama, Eddington, the director has firm roots within the horror genre, making it easy to see why he would be a top choice for helming Morbius.
Perhaps working with a more popular director like Aster would have solved all of the script issues, with a more established filmmaker perhaps being given more creative control and say over the final draft of the script. If many of the film’s issues stem from the script, then perhaps a bigger director with more sway might have been able to encourage rewrites and settle on a better version, as studios sometimes choose emerging or less popular directors for easier control.
As well as this, a big name like Aster might have been enough to drag more people out of the house and into the cinema, with a huge fan base that might’ve enticed audiences to see the film, knowing that he was behind it. While a post-pandemic release affected the success of many films, the ones that were able to rise above this were the ones with big names attached, with the likes of Tenet and Top Gun: Maverick bringing flocks of people to the big screen.
The casting of Jared Leto also feels like an unfortunate hindrance that could have been avoided, and perhaps if Aster had been involved, then he would have had a say over the casting and gone with someone else for the lead role. While the director has his usual pacing issues, there is no doubt that the Morbius film would look very different under his thumb, perhaps making for something a lot weirder, darker and surreal that would have elevated the sad state of affairs that Marvel now has their name plastered all over.
