Matt Smith Still Doesn’t Get Why Anyone Watched Morbius
Back in 2022, Matt Smith found himself stuck in the awkward reality of having to sell Morbius—a movie that, at best, struggled to land as anything close to “good.” At the same time, he was also promoting the first season of House of the Dragon, which actually did connect with viewers.
Four years later, Smith can finally look back and treat the whole situation like comedy. In a conversation with Brittany Broski’s Royal Court, he was asked what it felt like to hear that Keanu Reeves had been spotted watching Morbius during a flight. Smith’s answer was clearly fond of Reeves, but he still didn’t soften his feelings about the comic-book film he starred in.
Matt Smith Reacts to Keanu Reeves Watching Morbius Mid-Flight
- Broski tells Smith that Reeves was seen watching Morbius on a plane.
- Smith’s immediate response is pure disbelief, cutting in with “F**k off,” as if he can’t believe the situation.
- When asked what Reeves might watch on flights instead, Smith replies, laughing, “Not f**king Morbius.”
- He continues by adding that Reeves must have really “gone through the BA library” to find it, describing the moment like Reeves was locked in—“He must have really gone through the BA library to get into that. He was having a moment,” and joking that it sounded like he was on “the Valium or something.”
- To make it clear he isn’t attacking Reeves himself, Smith then clarifies, “What a legend. I love Keanu Reeves, I just want to make that really clear.”
- He also notes the studio plan at the time: Sony said it would be a “fresh reboot” with “new people.”
It’s hard to separate Smith’s joke from the bigger wave of Morbius “meme culture.” The film was mocked long before it reached theaters, largely because it looked rough and because Jared Leto’s performance came off as intensely committed. When it finally released, the reaction landed closer to “boring-bad” than “funny-bad”—but that didn’t stop the movie from picking up momentum anyway.
On top of that, Sony tried to lean into the jokes by re-releasing Morbius to cash in on the memes. That move didn’t change much; it flopped again. From there, the conversation shifted into people trying to steer the studio toward another return, with the argument that everyone was “just busy that weekend,” as if the timing was the real problem rather than the movie itself.
With all that history, it makes sense that Smith can now laugh without feeling like he has to take it personally. The big hope is that the gig paid him well—and that House of the Dragon arriving helped erase the sting left behind by Morbius.
Morbius
Cast
- Jared Leto — Dr. Michael Morbius
- Matt Smith — Milo
- Adria Arjona — Martine Bancroft
- Jared Harris — Dr. Emil Nicholas
