Morbius currently sits at a Rotten 17%, while the movie's opening weekend at the global box office suggests Sony Pictures won't be rushing a sequel into production.
Whether you hated the Living Vampire's big screen debut or actually found something about the movie to love, it is a Marvel Comics adaptation, and that means there are plenty of Easter Eggs to be on the lookout for. Now, we've combed through Morbius (so you don't have to...) in order to compile a list of the biggest comic book references, cameos, and potential future teases.
It should go without saying that spoilers follow, and we think you'll be surprised to see just how often this otherwise disappointing movie paid homage to its source material.
To take a look through these Morbius Easter Eggs, all you need to do is hit the "Next" button below!
10. LCV Murnau
When Michael Morbius makes the decision to experiment on himself in an effort to cure his rare blood disease, he heads into international waters alongside Dr. Martine Bancroft.
What you might have missed, however, is the fact that the ship they travel on is called the "LCV Murnau." This is a nod to FW Murnau, the German filmmaker who helmed Nosferatu, an iconic and extremely influential vampire film. It inspired countless horror movies, and, more specifically, how vampires would be portrayed on screen in the decades that followed.
While Morbius certainly doesn't live up to that classic, the violence that ensues when Michael is transformed into a Living Vampire is a fun nod to Murnau's work.
9. "Chameleon's Great Escape"
The Daily Bugle makes its return in Morbius, and one edition references "Chameleon's Great Escape." This has to be a nod to the Spider-Man villain ahead of his live-action debut in Kraven the Hunter.
The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger will portray the character in that movie, and it seems likely we'll pick up with him there before or after this apparent prison break. Either way, the headline suggests Sony's Chameleon will be villainous in nature, though we wouldn't be surprised if, like Venom and even his brother Kraven, he's another somewhat morally ambiguous anti-hero.
There's a chance this Easter Egg is never referenced, of course, but it would be a shame if this headline isn't used to tease what Sony has planned for Chameleon in Kraven's upcoming movie.
8. Martine Bancroft's Transformation
In one of the movie's most baffling moments, Morbius attempts to rescue the kidnapped Martine Bancroft, only to learn that Milo has already cut her throat. Well, we're assuming that's the case; the PG-13 rating makes the nature of her injury somewhat unclear, but Martine is seemingly dying.
She implores Michael to feed on her so he can be powered up heading into the final battle, and the Living Vampire reluctantly obliges. Later, we learn that Martine survived and has also become a vampire!
This actually follows the comic books, though the twist here is that she wasn't a "Living Vampire" on the page. Instead, she went out of her way to become a, uh, regular vampire in an effort to make sure she and Michael could live out their lives together as immortals. The bloodsucking Martine ultimately becomes a villain, so there are a few different directions Sony can head in now.
7. San Francisco And The Daily Bugle
As we've mentioned, The Daily Bugle is used in Morbius, though this appears to be a different version of the newspaper that Eddie Bugle writes for over in San Francisco (which has been billed as the "West Coast Edition"). Regardless, as well as the aforementioned nod to Chameleon, the newspapers used throughout this movie also tease the likes of Black Cat and Rhino.
There's even a fun nod to Venom with the headline, "Daily Chocolate Is The Key To Happiness."
Talking of the symbiote, he's directly and indirectly referenced on a number of occasions. FBI agent Alberto Rodriguez makes note of "that thing in San Francisco" while investigating the massacre on the LCV Murnau, though neither he nor Stroud have appeared in the Venom franchise. Morbius is clearly aware of the Symbiote, anyway, as he tells a crook "I am Venom!" at one point.
6. A Possible Doctor Who Nod
This could be a coincidence or an Easter Egg guaranteed to make Doctor Who fans very happy. When Lucien (or "Milo" as he's frequently referred to throughout the movie) is asked to describe the pain he's going through on a scale of one to ten, he decides to go with an eleven.
If you're a fan of the BBC series, you'll know Matt Smith portrayed the eleventh incarnation of the Doctor, so we're going to go with this actually being a reference to his stint in Doctor Who.
Morbius marks the actor's second major blockbuster role after Terminator Genisys and he doesn't exactly steal the show here. In fact, he's arguably one of the worst parts of the Marvel Comics adaptation as the villainous Milo, so here's hoping House of the Dragon ends up panning out better.
5. An Awkward Reference To The Hulk
Many fans are convinced that Venom: Let There Be Carnage included a cheeky reference to Ant-Man, and Morbius similarly pays homage to The Incredible Hulk in one of the movie's worst moments.
With the FBI interrogating the good doctor after they come to the conclusion he's the one who has been killing people in New York City, Michael starts showing some serious signs of bloodlust. Putting a spin on Bruce Banner's "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry line" (in the classic TV show and the MCU), he tells the agents that they don't want to see him when he's, ugh, hungry.
It's an awful use of dialogue, and not a good Easter Egg by any means. Unfortunately, we wouldn't put it past Sony to continue making these silly nods to the MCU in the hope they can fool fans - or even the actors starring in these projects - into thinking that one day the two worlds will link up.
4. Horizon Labs
Morbius establishes that Lucien funds most of Michael's work as both men are hoping to find a cure for their respective conditions. While it's vaguely suggested that Milo's money comes from organised crime, that's never really expanded on beyond him having shady security guards at one point.
Regardless, we also learn here that Morbius is the Director of Horizon Labs. While the company is something of a non-factor, the logo is at least identical to the one used in the comics. That's about it, though, and it doesn't seem to have the same mission statement or employees.
The key reason Sony probably chose to use Horizon in this movie is that Morbius has ties to them on the page. Much to the surprise of Spider-Man, he secretly worked for the company in Lab 7 and was ultimately pivotal in helping to create a cure during the Spider-Island event. Funnily enough, his young patient's room number in the movie is "7," which is also a fun nod to the comics.
3. The Vulture Arrives In The MCU
Referencing the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Morbius' first post-credits scene shows a tear opening in the sky above New York City. It's identical to the one we saw in that Marvel Studios movie when Doctor Strange was attempting to repair the damage done by his spell, and leads to an unexpected face arriving in the world characters like Venom and Morbius call home.
In an empty prison cell, Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes appears, with the effect very much the same as the one used on the Spider-Man Variants and their villains when they left the MCU.
He seems unfazed about being teleported to another Earth and later manages to construct a new Vulture costume (with a helmet that's a little more bird-like). Toomes was the first villain the MCU's Spider-Man faced, so the fact that he's been pulled into another reality is definitely significant. However, it also contradicts what we saw in Spider-Man: No Way Home and has only confused fans for the most part.
2. Spider-Man
Meeting with Morbius, The Vulture acknowledges that he's not from Michael's world and says he thinks his arrival there has something to do with Spider-Man. This is the first time the wall-crawler has been mentioned in Sony's Marvel Universe (we're not counting Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene because that was set in the MCU), but Morbius only responds with a blank stare.
Seeing as all those Variants were teleported from the MCU before Strange completed his spell - making the world forget Peter Parker - we're assuming Toomes still remembers who is beneath the mask.
Some fans have misconstrued this conversation to mean The Vulture is recruiting the Living Vampire in order to take out Spider-Man, but that's not the case at all. This scene feels like it's been taken out of context, but things take an even more nonsensical turn when Toomes' plan becomes clear...
1. The Sinister Six
In what has to be one of the most baffling turn of events we've seen in a Marvel movie, The Vulture suggests to Morbius that they put a team together in order to "do some good." This is clearly meant to be a reference to the Sinister Six, but someone might want to tell Sony the clue is in the name there!
Of course, neither Venom nor Morbius are villains in this world and we're anticipating Kraven also heading down the anti-hero route. As a result, it appears we're getting a version of the Sinister Six that fancy themselves an Avengers-style team of superheroes.
It's possible that Toomes is looking to manipulate these anti-heroes in order to return home, and we're banking on this story playing out down the line...which isn't an exciting prospect in the least.