Warning. Spoilers for Morbius follow…
We’re sure seeing some rather inventive promotional methods from directors at the moment. Ambulance helmer Michael Bay has come out and said he thinks “some of the CGI is shit” in his latest offering, and Daniel Espinosa – the director behind Sony’s latest Marvel universe franchise hopeful Morbius [read our review of the film here] – has decided to go on social media and answer a bunch of fan questions about the movie, spoilers be damned!
The Jared Leto-led Marvel adaptation – part of Sony’s shared universe alongside Tom Hardy’s Venom – certainly raised a few eyebrows when it dropped its teaser trailer waaaaay back in January 2020, the first look featuring artwork of Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man along with an appearance from Michael Keaton, seemingly reprising his MCU role as Adrian Toomes from Spider-Man: Homecoming.
This was of course pre-Spider-Man: No Way Home, and the seemingly multiverse-hopping shenanigans left many scratching their head (including Michael Keaton himself). However, we now have answers – ahead of the film’s release(!) – courtesy of Espinosa, who has given the low-down on Keaton’s Vulture as well as teasing Sony’s own Spider-Man as part of the shared universe.
So, as it turns out, none of the Vulture shots from the trailers appear in the final film, and instead we see Keaton’s Adrian Toomes arriving in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, having been transported from the MCU via the cracked sky that we saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home this past December. During a fan Q&A held via CinemaBlend, Espinosa confirmed that this is the same Adrian Toomes from Homecoming, as well as teasing the prospect of him assembling a version of the Sinister Six.
"Yes." – DE
— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) March 25, 2022
"… The events of NO WAY HOME had the effect of transferring Venom and Vulture (and maybe others ) back and forth between the MCU and the Venom Universe." – DE
2/2— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) March 25, 2022
"Well, he is recruiting teammates and he has enticed one already. So it sure looks like a start." – DE pic.twitter.com/MBcGtHLLds
— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) March 25, 2022
Espinosa was also asked whether a Spider-Man exists in the Venom and Morbius universe, with the filmmaker confirming that is indeed the case and teasing a definitive answer in the near future:
CB: Is there a Spider-Man in Venom’s universe?
— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) March 25, 2022
"It is my understanding that audiences will discover the answer soon." – DE
— CinemaBlend (@CinemaBlend) March 25, 2022
It does of course make complete sense that a Spider-Man should exist in Sony’s universe, especially given its recent rechristening to Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, and the obvious solution for Sony would be to bring back Andrew Garfield as the web-slinger following the reception to his scene-stealing stuff from No Way Home.
However, let’s not forget that Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige previously described the MCU’s Spidey as “the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes”. Sony and Marvel are believed to be plotting a new MCU trilogy for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man this is yet to be officially confirmed and was actually downplayed by Sony. However, even if his Marvel Cinematic Universe adventures do continue it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for Holland’s Spidey to hop cinematic universes to tie a few ends with Keaton’s Vulture and his newly-formed Sony Sinister Six?
What are your thoughts on this story? Would you like to see Garfield back alongside Tom Hardy’s Venom and Jared Leto’s Morbius? How about Tom Holland battling the Sinister Six? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth…
One of Marvel’s most compelling and conflicted characters comes to the big screen as Oscar winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges?
Morbius sees Daniel Espinosa (Safe House) directing a cast that includes Jared Leto (Suicide Squad) as Dr. Michael Morbius, Adria Arjona (Pacific Rim Uprising) as Martine Bancroft, Matt Smith (Doctor Who) as Milo, Jared Harris (The Terror) as Morbius’ mentor, Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming) as The Vulture and Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious) as an FBI agent.
Morbius is set for release on April 1st.
