The confusing way Sony’s Morbius relates to the Marvel Cinematic Universe

The latest trailer for Morbius It has arrived and it turned out to have a few more surprises than we expected. Sony gave fans a front row seat to the transformation of the mostly vampire villain Jared Leto, but also did not waste an opportunity to show the fact that the film seems to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A helicopter shot of New York City gives a glimpse of the Oscorp Building, the workplace of CEO Norman Osborn, better known as the Green Goblin. A shot from the front page of the Daily Bugle shows us that the printing arm of Spider-Man’s classic news rag is thriving in the world of Morbius. An FBI agent jokes about “that thing in San Francisco,” a reference to the events of Poison, with the symbiote and Eddy Brock mentioned by name on the stinger of the trailer.

But a key reference to Spider-Man and his enemies gives us an idea of ​​when in the MCU. Morbius could take place.

The trailer has another look at a scene where Leto’s Dr. Michael Morbius, who seems to have gone bad by this point, runs into Michael Keaton, who says to him, “Hey, Dr. Mike, you and I should keep in touch. Contact”.

Image: Sony Pictures

Since Keaton played Adrian Toomes, the Vulture’s true identity, in Spider-Man: Homecoming, we have to assume that he is also him here. If that’s true then Morbius It’s definitely set in the same universe as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and, by extension, the rest of the Avengers in the MCU.

But the cameo leaves us with a few more questions than that. Like, why is Toomes wearing a lab coat? Did you get out of prison and put your engineering knowledge to good use, not criminal? And why did he come across Morbius, didn’t he protect Spider-Man not too long ago? In the comics, Morbius has occasionally been more of an antihero than an outright villain, so maybe Toomes helps put him on a better path.

Our other great clue on how Morbius fits into the larger superhero cinematic landscape comes when, when Michael Morbius walks past a Spider-Man poster that has the word “killer” scrawled on it (the image appears to be a direct copy and paste of Marvel promotional art Spiderman PS4 video game, rather than anything from the MCU). Based on this, along with the Vulture cameo, we can assume that Morbius takes place sometime after the events of Spider-Man: Far From Home, which ended with the webslinger being blamed for Mysterio’s drone strikes.

Image: Sony Pictures

If the MCU and Morbius They really are connected from what seems like Thanos and his snap could have played some role in Sony’s superhero universe. Of course, there is always the possibility that Morbius takes place in an alternate universe, in which Spider-Man is a wanted criminal; the Daily Bugle and Oscorp all exist; Vulture looks like Michael Keaton and Thanos I did not do it invade Earth … but that seems a bit of a stretch.

All of these crossovers and references feel especially important, given Sony and Disney’s disputes over the rights to Spider-Man and his rogues gallery. Sony owns the film license for Spider-Man, who is a Marvel character, but the studio has an agreement with Disney to co-produce Spider-Man films. The compromise allows Sony’s Spider-Man to be part of the MCU.

The two studios briefly parted ways in 2019 after failing to agree on contractual issues. However, after a plea from the Spider-Man actor, Tom Holland, Sony, and Disney agreed to a contract that kept the Spider-Man universe and the MCU connected.

With MorbiusIt seems like Sony is starting to make stronger connections between its extended superhero universe and the current Spider-Man franchise that fans already love and, interestingly, with Tom Hardy. Poison franchise.

Before the release of the first film, Sony said that Poison it wouldn’t be part of the MCU, but Morbius seems to be trying to make a crossover look more likely. It’s worth mentioning that Kevin Feige doesn’t appear to be a Morbius producer, and it’s impossible to say if Spider-Man will play a significant role in the film.

Morbius will hit theaters on January 28, 2022, after the release of the next Spider-Man movie that will be definitely set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: No Way Home.