Actor Matt Smith is set to join Jared Leto in "Morbius", a film based on the Spider-Man villain of the same name.
Exact details of who Smith would play in the Marvel spin-off are unknown at this time, but the actor would have a pivotal role, reported Variety.
Daniel Espinosa is directing the film.
Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have penned the script. Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing "Morbius" with Lucas Foster.
Palak Patel will oversee the project for Sony.
"Morbius" was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Gil Kane in 1971 for for "The Amazing Spider-Man #101".
Morbius was a scientist who tried to cure himself of a blood disease, with tragic results. He became afflicted with vampiric traits such as fangs and a thirst for blood — and wound up battling Spider-Man.
The character appeared sporadically in Marvel Comics in the subsequent years and was revived in the 1992 series "Morbius, the Living Vampire".
