Sony and Marvel’s ongoing collaboration has been one of the more intriguing subplots of modern-day comic book movies.
Not only has it experienced its own ups and downs – last year, for instance, it looked certain that Sony was ready to call the whole thing off, until Disney and Marvel Studios quickly offered up a better deal – but it’s also paved the way for a totally different breed of superhero.
Just look at Venom. Though comic book fans were naturally disappointed by the PG-13 rating, the anti-hero spinoff was unlike anything we’ve seen before. Ditto for Morbius, the Jared Leto-starring vampire flick which unveiled its very first teaser trailer. And we have questions.
Chief among them being Morbius‘ ties to the wider MCU – or lack thereof – given the trailer not only refers to Spider-Man as a murderer (and may well honor the twist ending of Far From Home), but it manages to sneak in a cameo from the Vulture himself. And as if that wasn’t enough, the film’s star Tyrese Gibson has also teased a potential MCU connection via Instagram.
See for yourself:
Of course, a simple hashtag in no way guarantees that Morbius is definitely connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s also the small matter of Spider-Man’s cameo, given the graffiti actually depicts everyone’s favorite Web-Head in the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man suit. Is it all just smoke and mirrors? Maybe, but today’s trailer arguably raised more questions than it answered.
Morbius swoops into theaters on July 31st and is far and away one of the most intriguing comic book movies slated for this year. Can it channel the same success as Venom – another Marvel/Sony collaboration – this summer? Let’s not forget that the Sinister Symbiote managed to score a whopping $850 million at the global box office, and prove everyone wrong in the process. Will Jared Leto’s vampire thriller scale the same heights? We’ll find out in a few months’ time.
