Even the man who played Morbius‘ own villain can’t resist a dig at the movie. Matt Smith, who starred opposite Jared Leto as the antagonist Milo, was recently told that Keanu Reeves had been spotted watching Morbius as his in-flight movie — and instead of defending the film, Smith burst out laughing.
Appearing on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court podcast, Smith was floored by the idea that Reeves had picked Morbius to pass the time at 30,000 feet, joking that Reeves must have scrolled through the entire in-flight library before landing on it. “Not f**king Morbius. My God, he must really have gone through the library to be getting to that. He must have been having a moment,” Smith said, before Broski asked what he watches on flights himself. His answer: “Not f—ing Morbius.”
The clip has since gone viral, with fans pointing out that Smith’s reaction says everything about how Morbius is remembered four years on — as a punchline first and a movie second. It’s a fitting moment to revisit exactly how that punchline came to be, and where things stand for Tyrese Gibson’s hopes of a sequel.
The Origin Of “It’s Morbin’ Time” — And Why The Meme Won’t Die
Smith’s joke lands because it taps directly into the meme that’s followed Morbius since its 2022 release. Before the film even opened, online skepticism about Sony’s attempt to build a franchise around a C-list Spider-Man villain had already curdled into mockery — trolls began photoshopping fake glowing reviews and inflated Rotten Tomatoes scores, a stunt that snowballed into the “#MorbiusSweep” trend.
Out of that same wave of trolling came the catchphrase itself. In a sarcastic Twitter thread inviting people to invent a tagline for Leto’s vampire antihero, a user posted the now-iconic line — a nod to the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers‘ “It’s Morphin Time,” repurposed for a character who, fittingly, does actually transform into a vampire. What was meant as a throwaway joke turned into one of the internet’s most durable memes, spawning countless remixes and crossover edits, including a fake-audience “Venom” tie-in version that racked up its own views.
The meme’s staying power arguably did more for Morbius‘ cultural footprint than the film itself. Sony, apparently reading the ironic enthusiasm as real demand, brought the movie back to theaters after its initial run — only for it to flop a second time, this time losing even to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on its opening weekend.
Which brings the story back to Tyrese Gibson — one of the cast members who has kept saying, well after the fact, that he’d happily do it all again.
Although Morbius is almost universally seen as one of the biggest flops of the Marvel/Sony Spider-Man Universe, the actors involved in the project, especially Tyrese Gibson, would love to return for a sequel. This might be a significant surprise because most of his scenes were cut from the final project. Still, Tyrese Gibson discussed the experience and the potential for Morbius 2. It’s morbin’ time, again!
Why Tyrese Gibson’s Best Morbius Scenes Never Made The Cut
Tyrese Gibson enjoyed playing Simon Stroud opposite Al Madrigal, who played Agent Rodriguez. Although fans still got to see these fantastic actors in their roles briefly in the film, the Fast and the Furious star was disappointed to find that many of the fight scenes that he had filmed with the movie’s protagonist and villain, Jared Leto and Matt Smith, respectively, had been completely cut from the film.
Gibson shared that he spent at least two to three hours a day getting into a metal arm, as seen in the trailer, but all the scenes he had filmed with the arm were removed from the final cut.
The actor shared with CBR that he wasn’t really told why his scenes were cut from the final edit either but imagined that post-production issues resulted in many of his scenes being “chopped out of the movie.”
“I definitely asked some questions. It wasn’t chopped because of the running time,” Tyrese continued.
Despite his favourite scenes being cut from the final edit, the actor shared that he was still incredibly grateful for the experience of being a part of the original film and hopes to see his character returning for a sequel.
Tyrese Gibson Says He’s “Waiting For The Call” To Return For Morbius 2
When asked what would happen to his character and if he would want to return for a sequel, Gibson shared that he is just waiting for the call to return. “I would be honoured to dance with Daniel Espinosa and the crew again,” he continued, reiterating that he would love to return several times.
When pondering a sequel, fans have agreed that there is a high likelihood that both Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal would have good reason to return for a sequel, especially considering that Michael Morbius is now a fugitive of the law.
Could Morbius 2 Actually Happen? Here’s Where Things Stand
Before Morbius was released on Netflix, and effectively got a second chance, the answer to whether it still has a chance for a sequel would have been a definitive no. To everyone’s surprise, however, the movie hit some considerable success when released on the streaming service, quickly working its way onto Netflix’s Top 10 movies charts. Not only does this prove that streaming may be the solution to many failed movie releases, but it also gives Morbius fans hope for the future.
Tyrese Gibson isn’t the only actor who has spoken out about wanting to see Morbius 2 happen. Actress Adria Arjona, who played Dr Martine Bancroft and became a vampire at the movie’s end, spoke about being happy to return for a sequel and wanted to know if her character chose good or evil.
Whether it will or won’t happen is a subject of considerable debate, but let us know what you think about Tyrese Gibson’s chances of returning for Morbius 2. Did you know that Morbius, The Living Vampire was original set to appear in Wesley Snipe’s first Blade movie?
