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The latest Morbius trailer drops hints indicating its connection to 4 different Spider-Man universes, including Sam Raimi's trilogy, The Amazing Spider-Man series, the MCU, and Sony's Spider-Verse.
Morbius is Sony's next superhero project, bringing Marvel's vampire doctor to the silver screen. Given his history as one of Spider-Man's major adversaries, it's no surprise that the latest trailer is packed with details related to the web-slinger.
Upon closer inspection, Morbius is revealed to be connected not to just one but 4 different cinematic Spider-Man universes. These include the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, The Amazing Spider-Man series, and setting the stage for Sony's Spider-Verse, featuring Venom, Kraven the Hunter, and possibly even the notorious Sinister Six.
How does Morbius tie into Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy?
Before the explosion and massive growth of superhero films as we know them today, Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, starring Tobey Maguire as the titular hero, left a lasting impression on audiences in the early 2000s. Not only did it fulfill the dream of bringing Peter Parker to the big screen from the legendary Stan Lee, but it also introduced a highly memorable portrayal of J. Jonah Jameson by J.K Simmons - who made a comeback in the MCU during the credits of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
So how does Morbius tie into this cinematic universe? In one scene from the trailer, the vampire doctor can be seen passing by a graffiti painting featuring Spidey with the word “murderer” tagged alongside. This detail confirms Spider-Man's presence within the context of the Morbius blockbuster.
However, a closer look at the costume suggests that this is the version of Spider-Man portrayed by Tobey Maguire, not Tom Holland. This image is actually taken from Sony's promotional campaign for the Spider-Man (2018) game, featuring the costume inspired by Maguire's character.
In another scene, as Morbius attentively reads news from J. Jonah Jameson's Daily Bugle, the logo and header on the front page are designed from the era of Sam Raimi, completely different from the version seen in The Amazing Spider-Man or the MCU.
How does Morbius tie into The Amazing Spider-Man?
The Amazing Spider-Man introduced only 2 films, starring Andrew Garfield as the lead, before Spidey was rebooted once again in the MCU. In the first film, Peter Parker faces off against Dr. Curt Connors, and in the sequel, he deals with Electro and the Green Goblin. However, the second film also introduces many important characters such as Felicia Hardy - an Oscorp employee who later becomes Black Cat in the comics; and Aleksei Sytsevich, also known as Rhino.
Returning to the Daily Bugle newspaper, the logo, as mentioned earlier, belongs to the era of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man, but what we need to note are the 2 brief news pieces at the top of the front page. The first headline reads: “RHINO ON THE LOOSE: ZOO HOAX FOOLS US ALL,”, and the other is “BLACK CAT: FRIEND OR FOE”. Thus, both Rhino and Black Cat exist in Morbius' universe, and coincidentally, these two characters also appear in The Amazing Spider-Man.
Furthermore, Oscorp will make a comeback in this film, as their logo-adorned building briefly appears in a scene from the trailer. Moreover, the name Morbius has also appeared in a series of important computer data in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Sony is likely mining its previously unused ideas to apply them to upcoming Spider-Man projects.
Morbius is a crucial part of the Spider-Verse that Sony is developing
Not only tied to past film projects, Morbius also looks to the future as this character resides in a new Spider-Man cinematic universe, featuring the presence of numerous formidable villains.
So far, the official projects in this universe only include Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, starring Tom Hardy, both set in the city of San Francisco. In the Morbius trailer, a police officer compares the severity and intrigue of Morbius's actions to events in San Francisco - a nod to Venom.
Next, while thwarting a robber, Morbius humorously jests, “I am Venom” to intimidate the culprit. These two details indicate that Morbius and Venom belong to the same cinematic universe and are undoubtedly crucial characters for Sony's Sinister Six project. Other members of this organization include Doctor Octopus, Vulture, Mysterio, who have already appeared or will appear in the MCU, Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man, while Kraven will have his own film in 2023. And with the concept of the multiverse applied, all these villains will be united under one cause instantly.
How does Morbius tie into the MCU?
Explaining how Morbius could be related to the three cinematic universes mentioned above seems incredibly challenging. The answer lies in Marvel Studios' blockbuster Spider-Man: No Way Home - the film that will open the gateway connecting parallel universes and link previous Spider-Man films together. Venom himself inadvertently 'strayed' into the MCU during the credits of Let There Be Carnage ( you can find out more here ).
Returning to the aforementioned graffiti drawing, the phrase 'murder' likely refers to the incident where Peter Parker (Tom Holland) allegedly killed Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home. However, due to Mysterio's manipulation, Peter immediately became a murderer in the public eye, while his true identity was also exposed. That's why he sought out Doctor Strange to 'wipe the minds' of everyone, inadvertently causing multiverse chaos.
However, the detail that unequivocally confirms Morbius' connection to the MCU is the appearance of Adrian Toomes/Vulture, the main antagonist in Spider-Man: Homecoming. He still wears the same prison jumpsuit as in the post-credit scene of this film, hinting at a potential alliance with Morbius. Everything is tightly interconnected, all leading towards the Sinister Six project and the Spider-Verse cinematic universe that Sony is developing.
Of course, the above are just analyses based on what the Morbius trailer provides. We'll have the official answers after Spider-Man: No Way Home premieres on December 24th this year, and Morbius debuts in January 2022.
According to ScreenRant
