It’s no secret that Disney and Sony both share the rights to the highly lucrative property of Spider-Man. While there have been past instances in which the two major studios have clashed over the character, it seems like those days are long behind them. In fact, Sony and Disney even have plans on creating interconnected film franchises. Ones that are tied (or webbed) to the wall-crawling hero.
In the recent months, there’s been buzz about a potential crossover film between Tom Holland’s Spider-Man alongside Sony’s previous incarnations. There were also rumours about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield possibly appearing in the film, battling against Jamie Foxx’s Electro. That being said, Spider-Man might not be the only character to bridge Sony’s Spider-verse with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
During an introduction of the trailer to fans in Japan, Jared Leto made some very interesting statements. He mentioned that “Morbius” would play “an exciting role in an expanded universe with a lot for all of us to look forward to”. Turns out, there is some strong evidence as to how “Morbius” plays a part in both furthering Sony’s Spider-verse and the MCU.
The Tangled Web of Connections
Right off the bat, the official teaser trailer for “Morbius” gave us a ton of Easter eggs and clues that left our heads spinning. Now, the thing is some of the information we’re getting can seem like they contradict one another at first. As we continued pouring through the possibilities, we find a very interesting foreshadow of what audiences can come to expect in “Morbius”. Are you ready? Based on the scene near the end of the teaser, we’re pretty damn sure that the film does take place within the MCU. Not an alternate version of the universe or a world in the Spider-verse that resembles the MCU. The authentic article itself.
The most compelling evidence for this argument can be found in the aforementioned scene. We hear a disembodied voice talking to Michael Morbius as he’s walking down an alleyway. The line goes “Michael Morbius, got tired of doing the whole good guy thing huh?”. Then, the scene cuts to none other than Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes (aka the Vulture) telling Morbius “What’s up, doc?“. When we first saw that, our minds were blown.
We needed to verify whether Keaton was actually playing Toomes or whether he was simply playing a minor, unrelated role in the film. It’s completely possible that this was just some fun meaningless cameo. Except for the fact that Keaton is wearing the exact same prison clothes in the teaser as he did in “Spider-Man: Homecoming”. Also, notice the way he talks to Morbius as well. It’s clear that Toomes is aware of Morbius’ existence and not in some weird, cosmic, multiversal way. It’s almost as if they’ve known each other, or at least Toomes does, prior to their encounter in the teaser.
Clear and shut case, then.
“Morbius”, despite being a Sony film, is set within Disney’s MCU, right? Well, there are some small complications that might throw this into question. We see graffiti mural of Toby Maguire’s Spider-Man on the wall with the words “Murderer” spray-painted over it. Damn it Sony, stop playing mind games with us! Normally, we’d write this off simply as the studio merely having some metatextual fun. A cute, little homage to old school Spidey days.
However, when we take into account the news about Maguire and actor Andrew Garfield possibly starring in “Spider-Man 3” alongside Tom Holland, that’s when we take a step back. The signs seem to point that the film “Morbius” will be used in some way to set up some future event with multiple Spider-Men colliding. The question is, how does the Living Vampire fit into all this?
The Future From Here
There are a number of future films and events that “Morbius” could tease out. The first and most obvious one would be the MCU’s “Blade” film. We’ve covered in the past with regards to Disney’s efforts to develop a solo film for the titular vampire hunter. If “Morbius” is indeed set within the MCU, then it would be the most logical and organic segue into Blade’s character. Fun fact, in 1998’s live-action “Blade” starring Wesley Snipes, Morbius actually makes a cameo in the film. His scene though was left on the chopping room floor and never made it into the film.
In the comics, the two characters have a long-running feud. At some point, Morbius was even hired by S.H.I.E.L.D to hunt down and apprehend Blade. Other times, Blade was brought on by heroes to battle against Morbius. Needless to say, there’s a lot of history between the two. We could see a post-credits scene in “Morbius” that sees Blade hearing of the vampire’s existence and vows to hunt him down. It only makes sense that Marvel’s most famous vampire hunter would go after its most prolific vampire.
As for Sony’s Spider-verse, “Morbius” could serve to introduce the true villain of the franchise. An existential threat to every Spider-Man and Spider-Woman across the multiverse and franchise. In the comics, there’s a group of immortal vampires called the Inheritors. The reason why you see some version of Spider-Man in every universe is that they’re all linked by a spider god, the Great Weaver. A being who is charged with controlling the Web of Life and Destiny. This cosmic force is actually the reason why Peter has Spidey senses, he’s linked to the Web.
The Inheritors, led by their leader Morlun, aims to utterly annihilate all Spider-people from all realities. In Marvel’s “Spider-Geddon” event, we see an army of Spider-People face off against the Inheritors in a war to save reality. There’s a chance Sony could introduce the Inheritors into the Spider-Verse using “Morbius”. They might recruit Morbius to join them, or he could join the other Spideys in the fight to bring them down.
We’re excited to see what “Morbius” will do to better flesh out the landscape of Sony’s Spider-Verse and Disney’s MCU. We certainly hope we’ll get to see some rendition of “Spider-Geddon” on screen someday. It’s probably more likely we’ll see Blade and Morbius clash before that happens. Till then, we’ll be sure to keep you updated on Marvel’s favourite vampire.
So what do you think of all this? Are you excited to see Jared Leto’s Morbius wreak bloody havoc? Are you simply waiting for Blade to lop his head off? Be sure to let us know in the comments down below!
