Sony's Spider-Man universe is expanding its roster of characters, and a brand-new addition is Jared Leto as Michael Morbius.
Morbius will follow the origin story of Leto's titular protagonist as he seeks to find a cure to a rare blood disease. After discovering a dangerous treatment, the character's conquest of finding a remedy leads to him transforming into a vampire with superhuman abilities.
The movie's place in the larger Multiverse has been the main topic of discussion by Marvel fans. Morbius' first trailer included several references to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, such as the inclusion of Spider-Man: Homecoming's Adrian Toomes and tying into the ending of Spider-Man: Far From Home.
Despite the MCU connections, questions about Morbius' universe were further amplified when more Easter eggs arrived in the latest featurette for the movie. The new footage shows direct references to Tom Hardy's Venom and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man franchise.
Now, ahead of the film's release in January 2022, a new trailer provided more insight into Morbius' place in the vast Multiverse.
Jared Leto's Morbius Shines in New Trailer
Sony Pictures officially released the brand new trailer for Morbius, showcasing fresh looks at Jared Leto's titular character and the movie's story.
The new 3-minute teaser offers a rundown of Morbius' abilities, like bat radar, flying, and increased strength and speed. It also featured references to Tom Hardy's Venom and an appearance from the MCU's Adrian Toomes aka Vulture, played by Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming).
The Oscorp building from Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man films was also included in the trailer.
As for Venom, a detective tells Tyrese Gibson's Simon Stroud that they "haven't had anything this good since that thing in San Francisco," clearly referencing the symbiote anti-hero.
A mural painted on a brick wall shows Spider-Man with the word “Murderer” graffitied over him also made its return in the trailer. It is unknown if this is a direct reference to Tom Holland's web-slinger, but the design somehow alludes to Tobey Maguire's iteration.
Morbius also unveiled one more reference to Venom when Leto's character directly mentions the name of the symbiote at the end of the trailer.
The trailer can be seen below:
The Best Look at Morbius
Many would agree that the latest Morbius trailer offers more questions than answers, but it also showcases the best look at Jared Leto's titular vampire.
Morbius included references to all three Spider-Man universes: the MCU, Tobey Maguire's franchise, and Andrew Garfield's world. It is unknown why all these Easter eggs are in the same place, but the ending of Venom: Let There Be Carnage could explain why.
During the post-credits scene of the Tom Hardy-led sequel, Eddie Brock and Venom were seemingly transported into the MCU.
It's possible that most of Morbius could still be set in the Venom-Verse, but Doctor Strange's spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home could've led to the merging of the universes mentioned above. This could explain why there are several Easter eggs from every Spider-Man movie franchise.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen how Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes fits in the narrative, but there's a chance that his role could be a glorified cameo. Based on the footage, it appears that Toomes would like to keep in touch with Dr. Morbius for unknown reasons, but he could be recruiting him to take down this universe's web-slinger.
All of this is pure speculation, but anything is possible at this point.
Morbius is set to premiere in theaters January 2022.
