When the first teaser trailer for Morbius dropped last week, two Spider-Man-related Easter Eggs instantly caught our eye. But it looks like some fans have seized on a third detail—Jared Harris’ brief appearance as a seemingly innocuous childhood friend—to fuel a theory that the actor is secretly playing Doctor Octopus.
As exciting as that sounds, it’s very much not the case. Speaking to Variety at the 2020 SAG Awards, the actor completely debunked the rumors while nevertheless praising fans for their spidey senses.
“I love the imagination that the fans have, it’s exciting for me to think about the imagination that that fans have,” Harris told the publication. “But yeah no, it’s not.”
Sounds exactly what Doc Ock would say! Jokes aside, just because the tentacular villain is off the table, doesn’t mean the actor isn’t playing another character with a secret backstory or a bigger tie to the Spider-verse. According to Variety, Harris remained “tight-lipped on any other details,” and his role remains undisclosed on IMDb.
Morbius arrives in theaters this summer.
