After multiple delays, Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man” spin-off “Morbius” was finally released over the weekend. The third installment in Sony’s cinematic Spiderverse, which also includes the two “Venom” movies starring Tom Hardy, the studio has long teased a hard connection to the main Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the original trailers seemed to indicate this by showing Michael Keaton’s Vulture character interacting with Jared Leto’s Michael Morbius, alongside a mural of Spider-Man with “murderer” written across it, a potential wink to the “murder” of Mysterio from Marvel’s “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” However, the problem with that connection, as eagle-eyed fans noticed at the time, was that Sony used Tobey Maguire’s incarnation in the image instead of Tom Holland’s.
Of course, that scene with the mural is not even in the final movie. The film’s director Daniel Espinosa (“Safe House,” “Life”), has revealed to CinemaBlend that not only did he not put that mural in the first trailer but he also has no idea what Sony’s reasoning was for adding it in the first place since it doesn’t appear in his final theatrical version of the movie.
READ MORE: ‘Morbius’ Review: A Dull, Depressing Comic Book / Horror Hybrid
“That image is only in the trailer,” Espinosa explained. “So for me, as a director, I only do the movie. I, as a fan, have several kinds of opinions and thoughts about that. But since I didn’t put it there because it’s not in the movie, and I didn’t put it in the trailer either. If I said something about what I think it is, it would be as a fan. But because I’m the director, I would be accused of knowing something. Which I don’t, you know? If I knew something, I could tell you. [But] it’s not mine. It’s not from my idea, you know? I would love to be honest and responsible, but I can’t, because it’s not mine.”
Was Sony trying to mislead audiences to get asses in seats for a film featuring an obscure Marvel Comics character? The film’s post-credits scene would seemingly link “Morbius” to Andrew Garfield’s “Amazing Spider-Man” universe with a nod to old “Sinister Six” movie plans, causing even more confusion among fans (see below, the Vulture wings and the differences from ‘No Way Home’ are perplexing fans).
Well, for one, fans don’t even know who the Spider-Man of this universe is yet, neither does Espinosa, but he did say Sony will be revealing that soon in an interview with IGN (“I have my thoughts and opinions, and they are in the movie,” is about the most he would allow).
“Kraven The Hunter,” led by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the beloved Spidey baddie, is currently shooting and is slated to be released next January. That film’s cast already suggests it also takes place outside of the MCU, too, as Taylor-Johnson played Quicksilver in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and his co-star Russell Crowe plays Zeus in “Thor: Love & Thunder.”
Hypothetically, if the vampire comic book flick lands a sequel, we might get more clarity on how this character fits into this adjacent Marvel universe. But given the mediocre box office— $39.1 million with sites like Variety already asking what the so-so opening means for its future—it feels unlikely we’ll get a “Morbius 2,” and instead, if we see Dr. Michael Morbius again, it might be as a supporting character in whatever Sony is setting up next.