The internet wants to know, and they’re right to ask: What universe is Morbius even in? With Sony’s Spider-Man villain movies like Venom and now Morbius, the question of where their version of Spider-Man is has been an ever-present thing. It seems as if they are separate from the Tom Holland universe that Sony collaborates on with Disney and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but where else isn’t clear, either.

Morbius first threw a wrench into things by adding in Michael Keaton’s Vulture from Spider-Man: Homecoming into the first trailer, meaning that characters from Holland’s world could show up in the Sony universe and vice versa. Or maybe they’re connected and don’t mention each other? These are the questions that fans have been asking since Venom in 2018. Now, Morbius’s latest trailer has just made it even more confusing.

In the new trailer, there is a reference to the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies, the same Oscorp building from Andrew Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man series, and then there’s a Venom callout, so … WHAT?!

Great question! Where DOES Morbius take place? Does anyone know? Are we going to know, or is it just a free for all, and we’ll eventually figure it out? Right now, I don’t think we’re going to have answers right away without giving away aspects of other Spider-Man-adjacent films. Maybe they’re just little nods for fans but it is still important to unpack.

A Spider-Universe Expanded

So here’s the thing: We know that the multiverse exists on the Sony side of things thanks to Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In the end credits scene, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock gets taken to a different universe, which features a breaking news bulletin from J. Jonah Jameson telling the world of Peter Parker. We see Tom Holland, and it sets in motion that he’s in the same universe that we see in the MCU.

Does that mean that Morbius is now tied into the MCU because of that? Is that how there are references to each of the previous Spider-Man universes, as well as the Venom world—because MCU Spider-Man is also about to collide with all of his alternate versions in Spider-Man: No Way Home? Or again, are they just all little nods because this is, technically, a movie about a Spider-Man villain with the Spider-Man of it all.

We saw it work with Venom, and so maybe Morbius will work without a Tom Holland/Tobey Maguire/Andrew Garfield-shaped figure swinging into frame. But still, this trailer is confusing, to say the least, on that aspect. I’d be happy to see Tom Holland just overwhelmed by the amount of villains he actually has. If they want to keep giving me these standalone villain movies, I won’t complain about it, but I would like to know a little more about exactly when and in what universe this Morbius movie is going to take place.

(image: Marvel Entertainment)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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