Earlier today, Sony Pictures released a three-minute trailer for Morbius. The movie looks quite a bit better than most of us expected, though the biggest talking points were a series of references to the wider Marvel Universe...we're just not sure which world they're supposed to be teasing!
It's looking a lot like Morbius takes place in a reality that borrows from the MCU, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Spider-Man franchises, and while Spider-Man: No Way Home could explain this, we're definitely a little confused right now. Throw in some mentions of Venom, and we have lots to discuss.
With that in mind, we're now breaking down these Easter Eggs to figure out what they mean for this Marvel movie and beyond. We're pretty sure a few of these might have even passed you by!
To take a look through this Morbius feature, all you guys need to do is click on the "Next" button!
6. Oscorp Returns
Oscorp was a big part of both the Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man franchises, but the company has never been referenced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
In the reality Dr. Michael Morbius calls home, they have a new building, but the same logo from Andrew Garfield's two movies as the web-slinger. That's either laziness on Sony's part or a possible indication that this movie takes place in the same world that Peter Parker Variant calls home.
It's certainly a unique creative decision, and we can't help but wonder how crucial Oscorp will or won't be to future stories. There's no way this Easter Egg was anything other than deliberate, and given how much stock Sony put in Norman Osborn's company in the past, perhaps it will serve as a big bad of sorts, connecting all these different projects in any number of ways.
5. Black Cat And Rhino
The Daily Bugle returns, and it shares the same logo as both Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and what we've seen in the Venom movies. We find it hard to believe TheDailyBugle.net exists in this reality, but a closer look at that front page does reveal a couple of undeniably intriguing Easter Eggs.
"Rhino On The Loose: Zoo Hoax Fools Us All" definitely feels like a weird way to acknowledge Rhino's existence, but it sounds like the newspaper is under the impression - right or wrong - that his existence is just an elaborate hoax pulled off by the zoo in New York City. However, a far more concrete link to the world of Spider-Man comes in the form of "Black Cat: Friend Of Foe?"
That confirms Felicia Hardy exists in this version of the Marvel Universe, but it appears the world is unsure whether she's on the side of angels. Fingers crossed that's leading to a live-action debut.
4. "That Thing In San Francisco"
This is clearly a reference to Venom, but which of his movies? As we learned in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the public was kept in the dark about what happened when that rocketship exploded at the Life Foundation and had no idea that two alien symbiotes had gone to war with each other.
The sequel revealed that there might be more to Eddie Brock than meets the eye, though, and Detective Patrick Mulligan was left alive to tell the full story of what he saw that night in the church.
With news helicopters on the scene, it seems likely Venom's existence has been revealed to the world. What these two have to do with that is hard to say, but they've clearly been tasked with investigating whatever is going on with Michael Morbius. However, if "that thing in San Francisco" is the most exciting event in recent memory, we think this reality doesn't have a Spider-Man.
3. Spider-Who?
This same confusing shot from the first trailer returns here with graffiti of Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man on a wall with the word "Murderer" plastered across it. Morbius clearly takes place in the same reality as the Venom movies, but until Let There Be Carnage's post-credits scene, Eddie Brock appeared to have absolutely no prior knowledge of the wall-crawler's existence.
Unless we're going to see a merging of the three Spider-Men's worlds, this Easter Egg makes zero sense. Perhaps Spider-Man: No Way Home ends with the MCU's Peter Parker donning the costume worn by Tobey Maguire's web-slinger? Clearly, the world believes the hero is a killer, anyway.
We're hoping this is going to be explained, but it feels like a random addition to the movie that leaves us concerned Sony doesn't really have a plan for how this "shared world" is taking shape.
2. Vulture Returns
Further muddying the waters of whatever the f*ck is going on in Sony's Spider-Man Universe is the return of Adrian Toomes. If we had to hazard a guess, the Spider-Man: Homecoming villain escapes at the same time as Michael Morbius, with the two forming an unlikely alliance before they're captured.
The Vulture appears to take an interest in his newfound friend, though, and seems keen to meet up again somewhere down the line. Could this be the beginnings of a new Sinister Six? It seems likely.
However, the bigger question here is what has led to Toomes being part of this world when we quite clearly saw Venom transported into the MCU from his reality. He could just be a Variant, of course, but we're again forced to return to the idea No Way Home is going to merge these different worlds.
1. "I Am Venom"
The weirdest moment in the entire Morbius trailer comes at the very end when the Living Vampire tricks some guy into thinking he's Venom. Once again, this drives home the fact that the symbiote is known to the public in this world, though we're not sure how that works when Eddie Brock is now in the MCU!
This feels a lot like one of those moments that could be from near the end of the movie, possibly with the lead becoming a vigilante of sorts. If that is the case, then we hope he gets a better costume than this (unfortunately, we're not banking on seeing that comic accurate suit he often wears on the page).
Still, it'd be pretty cool if he turned around and Venom was standing right behind him. Perhaps Eddie will also be part of Toomes' Sinister Six or is going to form his own group to counter that team?