I Don’t Know What to Make of Sony’s Spider-Man-Adjacent Morbius Trailer

Morbius dropped its first trailer today, and it became a chorus of “this is a movie being made?” because … did anyone remember that this movie was being made?

While it feels like another “we’re not like other comic book movies” villain origin story kind of movie, there is one important aspect of the trailer that has many of us talking, but don’t let me spoil it for you if you haven’t seen the trailer yet. Watch below:

All the way to the end yet?

Then you know that, yup, right at the end, there he is: Vulture.

The first Spidey villain of the Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover shows up in a brief trailer stinger, making a comment about dressing up like a bird and basically telling us all that there are no rules on who Sony can bring over from Tom Holland’s standalone Spider-Man films.

Morbius is a villain from the Spider-Man universe who, essentially, is a vampire. Well, I guess I mean he’s technically a vampire, but the trailer shows him getting his powers from a bunch of bats, and honestly, if a sexy vampire bit him on the neck, I’d like it better. I’d also love if it weren’t Jared Leto, but let’s put the main character aside for a minute.

What is important is my sweet beautiful boy Matt Smith—and Michael Keaton. Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) was Peter Parker’s first real villain on his own in the MCU, and what a journey it was for Peter. His girlfriend’s father was trying to kill him? You hate to see it, but in true Spidey fashion, Peter didn’t kill him. Instead, he left a note on Toomes and left him for the police, and in the end, Toomes protected Peter’s identity.

For whatever good that did Peter, seeing as, in this trailer, Peter Parker is labeled as a “murderer.” To be honest, I’m not ready for the idea of Peter Parker being public enemy number 1, because I worry for him. What the inclusion of Toomes and “murderer” means, though, is Sony is putting story elements from the current Spider-Man movies—and, by extension, the MCU—in this Spidey-adjacent property. In fact, it kind of makes it seem as if Tom Holland’s Peter Parker could even show up in Morbius—or, more importantly, Venom 2.

Matt Smith is slated to play Loxias Crown, or Hunger, the “mutant madman” and murderer. A former Hydra agent, Crown is an important aspect to Morbius’s story, and I’m excited for Matt Smith to actually have a role instead of being “rumored” to be in something and never actually appearing (looking at you, Star Wars). It also says that J.K. Simmons is rumored to bring J. Jonah Jameson back to life in this movie, after his appearance in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but I’m interested to see how much Spidey actually plays a part, since he’s technically on the run after Mysterio’s twist.

That’s pretty much the only thing I’m really excited about in this trailer, though, because the tone of it makes me think the Academy Awards will probably take it seriously as a “contender,” since the only superhero movies they feel deserve recognition are ones that are “dark and gritty.” (Black Panther always being the exception because it is a beautiful film.)

What I will say about Morbius is that the excitement for it comes for the opportunities for crossovers/Peter Parker’s inclusion more than the actual movie itself, for me. Sure, I love a good vampire flick just as much as the next person, especially one based on Morbius, but throwing Toomes into this movie makes me think that it might be relying on our love of Spidey’s foes and their connection to the web-slinger more than Dr. Michael Morbius and any affinity for him as a character.

(image: Sony Pictures)

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