Matt Smith is in talks to join 'Morbius'.

Matt Smith

Matt Smith

The 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' actor is said to be in final negotiations about appearing alongside Jared Leto, who will play the titular Spider-Man villain, in the motion picture.

According to Variety, details of who Smith might play are yet to be known, but it is said to be a major role.

Daniel Espinosa will direct the project, and Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Lucas Foster are set to produce.

Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have written the script for the film, which tells the story of a scientist who ended up with vampire traits, such as a thirst for blood and fangs, after attempting to cure himself of blood disease.

Morbius first appeared in comic 'The Amazing Spider-Man #101', and the character went on to land his own series, 'Morbius, the Living Vampire', which spanned from 1992 to 1995.

Leto has already began preparing for the role, taking to Twitter in November to reveal he had shaved his beard off ahead of filming the 'Spider-Man' and 'Venom' spin-off.

He wrote: "And so it begins...#MORBIUS (sic)"

Tolmach and Arad recently confirmed production will get underway in February.

When asked last year what his and Arad's next project will, he said: "'Morbius' is the next one...

"The plan is early part of next year. We're still working on it."

Arad added: "More or less, February?"

And Arad previously admitted he and Tolmach were delighted to attract Leto to 'Morbius' and Tom Hardy to 'Venom', because it is tough to sign them up for movies.

He said: "This is the great thing for us now, that an actor like him, and an actor like Tom wanted to have their own character. But the character they love.

"Both of them, very hard to get them to do a movie. You actually cannot get them. We went in, we sat with them, and everybody told us, 'Oh, ba, ba, ba, ba, ba.' Nothing. That's what he wanted to do. Tom. And Jared, too.

"We went to this place with them, and he just...good actors want to be different than what they are."

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