The confusing way Sony’s Morbius ties into the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Check out the latest trailer Morbius The movie has finally arrived. It had more surprises that we expected. Sony gave fans a front row seat to the transformation of Jared Leto’s sorta-vampiric mostly-villain, but it also wasted no opportunity to show off the fact that the movie seems to take place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Oscorp Building, home to CEO Norman Osborn and best known for his role as the Green Goblin, is captured in a helicopter view of New York City. One look at the Daily Bugle’s front page shows how the Spider-Man News rag has been thriving. Morbius. An FBI agent jokes about “that thing in San Francisco,” a reference to the events of Venom, with the symbiote and Eddy Brock referenced by name in the trailer’s stinger.

However, one reference to Spider-Man gives an inkling of the time in MCU Morbius It could happen.

The trailer has another look at a scene in which Leto’s Dr. Michael Morbius, who seems to have already broken bad at this point, runs into Michael Keaton, who tells him “Hey, Doctor Mike, you and I should stay in touch.”

Image: Sony Pictures

Keaton has played Adrian Toomes. The real Vulture identity is in fact Keaton. Spider-Man’s Homecoming, we have to assume that’s who he is here as well. If that’s true, then Morbius is definitely set in the same universe as Tom Holland’s Spider-Man — and by extension the rest of the Avengers in the MCU.

The cameo still leaves us asking a lot of questions. Why is Toomes in a labcoat? Is he able to use his engineering skills for non-criminal purposes? And why’s he crossing paths with Morbius, didn’t he protect Spider-Man not too long ago? Toomes might be able to help Morbius on his way.

The second big clue to how it works is Morbius fits into the larger cinematic superhero landscape comes when, when Michael Morbius walks by a poster of Spider-Man that has the word “murderer” scrawled across it (image appears to be a direct copy-paste from promotional art from Marvel’s Spider-ManPS4 video game rather than any from the MCU. We can conclude that Morbius is set sometime in the future, based on the Vulture cameo. Spider-Man Far from Home, which ended with the webslinger being blamed for Mysterio’s drone attacks.

Image: Sony Pictures

The MCU is a combination of Morbius It is possible that Thanos’ snap and the Sony super hero universe could be connected. There is always the chance that MorbiusThis story takes place in an alternate universe where Spider-Man is a wanted felon; Oscorp, the Daily Bugle and Oscorp exist all; Vulture appears to be Michael Keaton and Thanos didn’tInvade Earth…but that seems a little too far.

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

Following a failed agreement regarding contract issues, they briefly severed their ties. Sony and Disney finally reached an agreement after Tom Holland, the Spider-Man actor, asked for it. This contract kept both the Spider-Man universe as well as the MCU linked.

With Morbius, it seems that Sony is beginning to draw stronger connections between its extended superhero universe and the current Spider-Man franchise that fans already love — and, interestingly, to Tom Hardy’s Venom franchise.

Before the first film’s release, Sony said that Venom It would not be part the MCU but MorbiusThis seems to be an attempt to increase the likelihood of a crossover. It’s worth mentioning that Kevin Feige doesn’t appear to be a producer on Morbius, and it’s impossible to say whether Spider-Man will play any significant role in the movie at all.

Morbius The film will arrive in cinemas on January 28, 2022 after the release the new Spider-Man movie. DefinitelySet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man, There’s No Way Home