Just hours after The Walt Disney Company pulled Turning Red from a theatrical release in Russia, Sony has decided to pull their upcoming Spider-Man spin-off Morbius from releasing in the country. The Jared Leto-led film was due out March 24 in the country.
“Given the ongoing military action in Ukraine and the resulting uncertainty and humanitarian crisis unfolding in that region, we will be pausing our planned theatrical releases in Russia, including the upcoming release of Morbius,” a Sony Pictures Entertainment spokesperson said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who have been impacted and hope this crisis will be resolved quickly.”
Sony also has the Lost City and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 scheduled for release in Russia. Both films could easily be pulled, as is Disney’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Lightyear. Warner Bros. also pulled the release of The Batman shortly after Disney made the move.
The Motion Picture Association, the major lobbying arm for the major studios and Netflix is backing the various studios’ decision to pull their films from release and issued its first comment on the invasion.
“The Motion Picture Association stands with the international community in upholding the rule of law and condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On behalf of our member companies, who lead the film, TV and streaming industry, we express our strongest support for Ukraine’s vibrant creative community who, like all people, deserve to live and work peacefully,” the MPA statement said. “We will continue to monitor the situation, working closely with our members and partners throughout the global creative sector.”