This Morbius trailer, at various points, features images of the Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire era Spider-Man, but it also contains direct reference to Sony’s Venom, straight out of the mouth of Dr. Michael Morbius himself. At the same time, you have the presence of Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/The Vulture, who is officially part of the MCU along with the Tom Holland Spider-Man. The streams have officially been crossed, folks. This movie might best be described as “universe fluid.”
As for what we actually see of Morbius himself in this extended second trailer, it’s quite a bit. Jared Leto’s ailing doctor has essentially turned himself into a superpowered monster in a quest to cure his rare blood disorder, a character that was known in the comics as “Morbius, the Living Vampire” thanks to a ban on undead/horror characters in American comics at the time of his creation. Despite that, Morbius has most of the classic vampire trademarks—he has fangs and a need for human blood, as well as echolocation this super scientist deigns to refer to as “bat radar.” At the same time, Morbius seems to eschew some of the vampire myths, such as a weakness to sunlight. We probably won’t know exactly which parts of the mythology will be maintained until we see him in action.
Morbius is currently scheduled for wide release on Jan. 28, 2022, about five weeks after No Way Home makes its debut. Will the Spider-Man world be fundamentally altered? Or will Morbius just slink back into the shadows afterward? Check the box office for your answer. In the meantime, you can watch the trailer below.
