Morbius has a new trailer that shows off the vicious vampire’s otherworldly powerset. While Morbius looks like a fun mix of an action movie and fantasy movie, that’s not what fans are talking about. They’re talking about what’s really important and asking: ‘is it set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe?’
What sparked this confusion? Well, the film seems to be pulling random elements from different big-screen versions of Spider-Man. We can see the Daily Bugle logo from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and graffiti showing Tobey Maguire’s version of the Wallcrawler. The aforementioned Daily Bugle mentions the Rhino, though, a villain from the Amazing Spider-Man movies. Then you’ve got a cameo from Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes, who exists in the MCU’s corner of the Spider-verse.
Confused yet? Well, strap in; things are about to get even more complicated. In the trailer, there are both subtle and overt references to Venom existing in the same world as Morbius. We know that Venom doesn’t (or didn’t) exist in the MCU, and the symbiotic anti-hero had never mentioned Spider-Man before.
Apparently, though some version of the Web-slinger exists in his universe because of the graffiti we see and the banners on the bus asking, “Where is Spider-Man?”
Check out the best tweets from confused fans below:
Did Sony not care about the art department or continuity in MOBIUS because I’m confused af.
You got the Raimi Spider-Man pic and Daily Bugle paper seen in the bg, then you have references to Venom who is from another universe, but then you also got MCU’s Vulture in this too?! pic.twitter.com/Ilky1lv2aU
— Rendy Jones (@Rendy_Jones) November 2, 2021
"Which universe should Morbius be set in? Raimi-verse? TASM? Or the MCU? 🤔"
Sony: YES pic.twitter.com/gGnbrnzSG5
— Shruti Rao (@shrutiraoart) November 1, 2021
In the #Morbius trailer we see MCU Vulture, we see Tobey Spidey spray paint, and we see TASM Oscorp and a reference to Rhino and Black Cat which exists in the TASM universe. Oh yeah and a Venom Reference. WHAT UNIVERSE DOES MORBIUS TAKE PLACE IN?!!? pic.twitter.com/yct9YedZ6p
— Faraz Hanif (@MarvelSMstudios) November 3, 2021
Wait…so he’s in the Venom universe and Vulture aka MCU Vulture is here with him or the actor is idk whut character is he. Whut timeline are we looking at for Morbius¿ https://t.co/TFsNyUl8Fg
— finn™ (@OfficialariffiN) November 3, 2021
Is Morbius in the MCU?
Sony: Yesn’t https://t.co/gZoomZdJWU— RV (@vincemarkcruz) November 3, 2021
Further complicating things are comments by Morbius star Tyrese Gibson who previously said it is set in the MCU before Sony countered saying it’s not. So what’s happening?
Well, the obvious, slightly cynical answer is that Sony’s just reusing old assets to save cash on Morbius, and that’s why we’ve got the old Bugle logo, and the wrong Wallcrawler emblazoned on a wall. That doesn’t quite fit though, the use of Keaton and the newly printed “where is Spider-Man” banners suggest something deeper’s happening.
If we were to step through a Doctor Strange-style portal into the mystical realm of speculation, we have a theory. It’s possible that Morbius starts life in the Sony-Verse and is then brought through to the MCU like Venom was in Let There Be Carnage. Or, perhaps, the end of No Way Home will merge the MCU and the alternate Spider-Man continuities into one cohesive timeline?
Morbius swoops into theatres on January 28. The Living Vampire will be beaten to the punch by Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17.