A new trailer for Morbius has been released – and it seems that Sony Pictures' next superhero movie is teasing the studio's own multiverse of madness.
Revealed on Tuesday, November 2, the film's latest footage implies that we'll be getting plenty of Marvel movie multiversal shenanigans in Morbius. Like what? Well, ties to Morbius adversary Spider-Man, for one, but there's much more than that within the film's newest teaser.
Check out the latest trailer for Morbius below:
There's a lot to unpack from the three-minute long video, but it appears that Morbius may be crossing over with characters from the MCU. Not only that, but it looks like Sony will be incorporating all three of its live-action Spider-Man universes into the antihero's first feature-length film. And, if that wasn't enough, Morbius even references Venom – so we can start counting down the days until the pair meet.
The next movie set in Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU), Morbius stars Jared Leto (Blade Runner 2049, Suicide Squad) as the titular character, whose real name is Michael Morbius.
A gifted scientist who's suffering from a rare blood disease, Morbius attempts to cure his affliction with an experimental treatment based around vampire bats. True to form for a comic book movie, the test goes horribly wrong and he winds up becoming a vampire with abilities including superhuman strength, speed, echolocation and flight – oh, and a penchant for human blood.
Morbius, which will also star Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Adria Arjona (6 Underground) Jared Harris (Foundation) and Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious), will arrive in theaters on January 28, 2022.
Analysis: is Morbius more important to the Marvel multiverse than we realize?
Spoilers follow for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Little is known about the film's plot, including which Marvel comics – if any – it'll borrow from.
Regardless, Sony is clearly laying the groundwork for some form of anti-hero team-up, or a giant battle royale between its Marvel-owned characters, in the SSU. As we mentioned above, Morbius namedrops Venom in the movie's latest trailer, so it's only a matter of time before they cross paths.
Of more interest, though, is how Morbius may fit into the MCU or wider Marvel Cinematic Multiverse (MCM). You only have to watch the latest trailer to get a sense that this is where things are going. So we wouldn't be surprised if some SSU characters bleed over into the MCM as part of Marvel Studios' grand multiversal plan for Phase 4 and beyond.
The foundations have already been laid in that regard. Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene teased an encounter between Eddie Brock's alter-ego and Tom Holland's Spider-Man, so that crossover is looking more likely by the day.
What about Morbius specifically, though? Well, it appears as if he'll be tied to the MCU and SSU. The film's first trailer, which arrived way back in January 2020, revealed that Michael Keaton's Vulture would be making a cameo appearance. The second trailer showed Vulture speaking to Morbius, too, saying "You and I should stay in touch".
This Vulture appears to be the same version that appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming. If it is, that means that the multiverse won't just impact the MCU – it'll bleed into the SSU as well, and lead to characters from different universes moving between them.
That, combined with Venom 2's post-credits scene, means that Morbius could cross over into the MCU. It remains to be seen how or if he will, but all signs point towards that inevitability.
And that's before we even get onto the multiple live-action Spider-Man universes on display in the latest trailer. Vulture is the obvious tie to the MCU, while Venom is almost certainly part of Morbius' world already.
But what about Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man universes? Well, we see a poster of Maguire's Spider-Man, with the word "murderer" written over it, in the latest footage, which was also present in the first trailer. Meanwhile, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment in Morbius' second trailer shows of OSCORP tower. The last time we saw this building, it was in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, which Garfield starred in.
So Morbius' live-action debut may be far more important to the multiverse's arrival than we initially thought. If this film is the one that connects the dots between the MCU, SSU and other Spider-Man live-action worlds, it'll be a movie that we need to watch when it arrives next January.
- Marvel Phase 4: release dates, multiversal crossovers and more
