Following the release of the Morbius trailer last week, baseless speculation began that Jared Harris might be playing Doctor Otto Octavius in the Sony film. I’ve spent the better part of the last week doing my best to inform everyone (via my Twitter account) that not only is Harris not playing Doc Ock, but that he is playing a different doctor: Dr. Emil Nikos.
Described as “calm and fatherly” Harris’ Nikos is the mentor to Jared Leto’s Morbius. He is the director of the underfunded institution we see in the trailer and despite having “every right to be cynical, ” he has chosen the “path of hope.”
I can imagine fans are having a hard time wrapping their heads around this because it represents a change from the comics, where Nikos was Morbius’ peer and best friend. That being said, this hardly represents the first time a character was adapted to serve a different purpose on screen. Given the fact that the trailer seems to paint Nikos in a sympathetic light, I’d wager it’s still safe to assume one aspect of the character might carry over from the comics: I’d put my bet down that he’ll still be the first victim of Morbius.
Morbius is due in theaters July 31, 2020.
