Matt Smith Reveals He Threw a BATMAN Reference Into MORBIUS But it Was Cut
Matt Smith recently shared a fun behind-the-scenes tidbit from Morbius involving one of the most iconic lines in comic book movie history. According to the actor, he improvised a classic quote from Batman during filming, only to see it removed before the movie hit theaters.
While promoting the upcoming third season of House of the Dragon in an interview with Josh Horowitz, Smith reflected on a famous line from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman while discussing his character Daemon Targaryen. That conversation led him to reveal that he once slipped the quote into Morbius as an ad-lib.
Smith explained: “What’s that line? It’s Jack Nicholson. ‘Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?’” Smith said. “I got that line in Morbius, by the way. And they f—- cut it out. I improvised that line. I was like, ‘Come on, let’s nick that from Big Jack.’ And they cut the f— out.”
The line, of course, comes from Jack Nicholson’s unforgettable portrayal of the Joker in Batman. It became one of the defining moments of the film and served as a chilling connection between the Joker and the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents.
It’s easy to see why Smith thought the reference would be fun to include. His Morbius character, Milo, brought plenty of chaotic energy to the film, and borrowing a line from Nicholson’s Joker could have been a memorable comic book movie Easter egg for fans to catch. Unfortunately, audiences never got the chance to see it.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa, Morbius was released in theaters on April 1, 2022, as part of Sony’s Marvel universe. The film starred Jared Leto as Michael Morbius alongside Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson.
The movie struggled to win over both critics and audiences. It currently holds a 15% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes based on 287 reviews, making it one of the lowest-rated Marvel-related films ever released. Audience reception wasn’t much stronger, with more than 170,000 IMDb users giving it an average rating of 5.1/10.
Despite the negative reviews, Morbius managed to earn money at the box office. Produced on a reported $75 million budget, the film brought in approximately $162.7 million worldwide.
It would’ve been kinda fun to see Milo suddenly drop Nicholson’s legendary Joker quote in Morbius, but it would’ve have made the movie any better. But, considering the movie’s reputation, that unexpected Batman nod might have been the one thing people remembered from the movie.