‘Morbius’ Director Daniel Espinosa On Film’s Poor Critical Reception: ‘I Have A Lot Of Self-Hatred’

In a new interview, the director of the new Marvel film Morbius spoke about the generally-negative critical consensus on his film, and joked that online critics will never cut as deep as his own “self-hatred.”

The film’s director Daniel Espinosa was making his behind-the-scenes debut as a Marvel director, but he’s made several films before this one including Life and Safe House. Espinosa told Insider that people have taken it upon themselves to critique his films since his very first one. He spoke about this happening right after completing his first feature film, Babylon’s Disease.

“I remember one day going home on the subway and I had a few drinks so I was a bit drunk,” Espinosa recalled. “Someone nudged me on the train and said, ‘I have to tell you what’s wrong with the second scene in your feature,’ and I was like, ‘Well, okay.'” He then added that “it’s a strange thing to make something that is so public.”

Espinosa went on to describe how he feels about evaluating his own work. He began in a joking tone saying, “Look, I have a lot of self-hatred so I have a lot of criticism of my own work. I’m always trying to focus on being better.” He was quick to add, “But I am also proud of what I do. There are parts in all of my movies that I’m really proud of.” Espinosa’s attitude is certainly a healthy one to have while working in such a public-facing career, and self-doubting artists should try to learn something from his perspective.

Morbius stars Jared Leto as the titular Living Vampire, as well as Matt Smith, Adria Arjona and Jared Harris. It completed filming in June 2019 but was delayed by several years due to logistical issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Morbius has grossed about $88 million in worldwide box office sales, only barely breaking even over its estimated $80 million budget.

According to Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have been slightly more permissive of the new film and it currently has a 70% audience rating. It seems that if you’re a diehard fan, the film will deliver what you want, if you’re cynical about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, avoid this film like you would a real-life vampire. You can watch the film’s trailer here.