Ari Aster Says He Was Asked to Direct ‘Morbius.’ Yes, That Morbius

In a moment that further probes the disconnect between studios and directors, filmmaker Ari Aster (“Hereditary,” “Midsommar,” “Beau Is Afraid”) revealed in a recent Semafor interview that he was once approached to direct “Morbius.”

“Marvel asked me once,” Aster said, before immediately second-guessing the decision to share. “I feel like I shouldn’t say. Should I? I was asked to do ‘Mobius’? Or is it ‘Morbius’?”

That slip—Mobius, Morbius, who can even tell the difference anymore—pretty much sums up the absurdity of this story. Aster, whose films are defined by dread, surrealism, grief, and psychodrama, was apparently asked to helm a Jared Leto vampire movie designed to expand the barely-functioning “Sony Spider-Man Universe.”

This is the same “Morbius” that became a punchline upon release, savaged by critics and memed into oblivion. It’s also the same film that was rumored to have had a staggering 11 screenwriters attached at various points in development.

Why on earth would Sony want to tap Ari Aster for something like “Morbius”? It’s like asking Béla Tarr to direct “Venom 3.” Not that I’m necessarily comparing the talents of Aster and Tarr. There’s a certain desperation at play here, a misguided studio instinct that if you pair “prestige” with IP, you’ll magically elevate the brand.

The fact that someone at Sony thought Ari Aster was the guy to salvage it? That’s its own horror story. Studios just don’t get it. Aster flies by his own ambitions, writing his own screenplays, and I doubt he’s the guy you hire to sell out.

Ultimately, “Morbius” was directed by Daniel Espinosa (“Safe House,” “Life”), and we all know how that turned out. It currently sits comfortably at 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.