Matt Smith reacted with disbelief on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court podcast to a reported sighting of Keanu Reeves watching Morbius, the 2022 Sony film Smith starred in, on a flight — joking that Reeves ‘must have been on the valium or something.’
- Matt Smith learned on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court podcast that Keanu Reeves was reportedly spotted watching Morbius on a flight.
- Smith’s reaction included ‘F*** off, you are joking!’ and a joke that Reeves ‘must have been on the valium or something.’
- Smith played Milo Morbius, surrogate brother to Jared Leto’s lead character, in the 2022 film.
- Sony currently has no further live-action Spider-Man Universe films in production after Morbius, Madame Web and Kraven the Hunter.
- The next Spider-Man release is the MCU’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, with a third animated Spider-Verse film due next year.
Matt Smith cannot process the idea that Keanu Reeves willingly sat through Morbius on a flight — and he said so, loudly, on Brittany Broski’s Royal Court podcast. The Doctor Who and House of the Dragon star, who played Milo in the 2022 Sony misfire, reacted to the news with the kind of horror usually reserved for jump scares. His verdict on why Reeves would do this to himself: “He was on the valium or something.”
Look, we all knew Morbius lived on as a punchline. But watching one of its own stars react in real time to a Marvel-adjacent celebrity encounter with it is the kind of content the internet was built for. Note the caveat: the source presents the Reeves sighting as an unattributed claim, not confirmed fact — so treat the mile-high screening as reported, not proven.
What Matt Smith actually said
Smith’s response landed somewhere between disbelief and secondhand embarrassment. When told Reeves had been spotted watching the film, he snapped: “F*** off, you are joking!”
Then he tried to make sense of it, warmly. “He must have been having a moment,” Smith said. “He was on the valium or something. No but what a legend, I love Keanu Reeves, I just want to make that clear.” Asked what he watches on planes himself, Smith was blunt: “Not f***ing Morbius, Jesus Christ. My god, [Reeves] must have gone through the British Airways library to be getting to that.”
The self-deprecation isn’t new. Smith previously told Rolling Stone that with a reception like this, “you just have to roll with it. What else are you gonna do? It’s a film, and we’re not saving lives. For whatever reason, it didn’t work out and… It is what it is.”
Why Morbius became a meme
Morbius arrived in 2022 as one of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe experiments and was panned by critics and fans alike, eventually becoming shorthand for a bad superhero movie. The source describes it as an origin story “that lacks fangs and bite, marred by shoddy computer-digital fights and an overly serious tone that does the darkened flick no favors.”
Smith played Milo Morbius, surrogate brother to Jared Leto’s lead. Four years on, there’s no suggestion any of its characters are set to return — which, given the reaction, feels like everyone reading the room at once.
What happened to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Sony kept mining the Marvel characters it holds the rights to after Morbius, with 2022’s Madame Web and 2024’s Kraven the Hunter, plus the more commercially successful Venom trilogy. Currently, and perhaps mercifully, Sony has no further live-action SSU films in production.
So the era of standalone villain origin stories nobody asked for appears to be on pause. If you followed how streaming charts treat these films long after their theatrical runs, the meme afterlife is where Morbius found its audience.
What’s next for Spider-Man
The next big Spider-Man entry is the MCU’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day, described in the source as arriving this month, while Sony has its third animated Spider-Verse film due next year. For UAE Marvel fans, Brand New Day is the one to watch — you can catch up on the first trailer breakdown before it lands.
Whether it clears the low bar set by the SSU’s rougher entries is another question. But at least it won’t be haunting the British Airways library for Keanu Reeves to stumble onto at 35,000 feet.
FAQ
Why did Matt Smith say Keanu Reeves must have been ‘on the valium’?
Smith was joking that Reeves must have been in an unusual state of mind to willingly watch Morbius on a flight, given the film’s reputation as one of the worst-received superhero movies. He also stressed his admiration, adding ‘what a legend, I love Keanu Reeves.’
What role did Matt Smith play in Morbius?
Matt Smith played Milo Morbius, the surrogate brother of Jared Leto’s lead character, Michael Morbius, in the 2022 Sony film.
Is there a Morbius sequel planned?
According to the source, four years after the film’s release there’s no suggestion that any of its characters are set to return, and Sony currently has no further live-action SSU films in production.
What Spider-Man movies are coming next?
The source describes Spider-Man: Brand New Day, an MCU entry, as releasing this month, while Sony’s third animated Spider-Verse film is due next year.
