Every superhero movie needs a villain. For Morbius, that role will be filled by Matt Smith's Milo. Soon after The Crown actor was announced to have joined the cast of Sony's upcoming Marvel movie, The Hollywood Reporter stated that he would be playing Loxias Crown, a.k.a. Hunger, an obscure Spider-Man villain from the '90s (created by John Romita Jr. and Howard Mackie) who got his powers from the Living Vampire himself.
Recently, however, it was revealed that Smith would actually be playing Milo, a newly created character for the film. He is Michael Morbius' childhood friend and suffers from the same blood disease. The apparent identity change didn't seem all that important at the time, but it appears the character has been a source of confusion for its actor, as Matt Smith has revealed that he's unsure of who the baddie actually is.
Speaking with Screen Rant, the Morbius star explained that he's not very familiar with Milo's backstory since the movie's script didn't explore it. Furthermore, he doesn't quite understand the villain's identity:
"The truth is, I wasn't aware of the great big history of the character in many respects. Because the script I was presented with doesn't really delve into the past of him - or indeed the future. And isn't someone else playing him? It's all a bit confusing to me, to be honest with you. I took as my Bible just the actual script, is the honest truth of it. And it was all a bit odd whether it was Loxias [Crown] or not. I'm still not quite sure, to be honest."
Going by his wording, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that, at some point, Milo was indeed supposed to be Loxias Crown. Either way, we'll likely get a better idea about the source of the actor's confusion once the movie arrives.
As reported by CBR.com, in the film, Smith's character was originally named Lucien, but got a name-change after Michael Morbius renamed him "Milo." According to the site, Sony described Milo as the heir to a powerful family, who, being aware of his limited time on Earth (due to his blood disease), uses his money to live life to the fullest.
As for his villainous motivations, Smith told CBR: "[Michael and Milo] both get the same power -- one goes one way, and one goes the other way... The lust for more blood, for more feeling, more power — Milo doesn't shy away from it... The idea that Michael is trying to deny his instincts as this creature is just beguiling to Milo. Why? 'We've spent all our lives hobbling around, feeling second-best. And suddenly we feel like gods. And you're gonna throw it away because that's the good thing to do?'"
Morbius leaps into theaters on April 1st, 2022.