Morbius, The Living Vampire is joining the MCU-adjacent Spider-Man universe.
Hey, remember Morbius: The Living Vampire? No? That's okay--not many people do. But that isn't going to stop Sony from making a movie about him starring Jared Leto to join the strange, head-scratching web of their own totally-not-MCU-related-but-probably-MCU-related Spider-Man cinematic universe.
Recently, we were treated to our first proper look at the movie, courtesy of a full-length trailer that packed an unexpected punch. Not only did it tease some of what we should expect from Morbius himself, but some hints and clues as to where the Sony Spider-Man universe may shake out in the post-Disney acquisition world. Oh, and plenty of bats--we can't forget the bats.
We did our best to comb through the trailer moment by moment to pull out any and all information we could find for Sony's latest anti-hero in all his blood-sucking glory. Did you catch anything we happened to miss? Let us know in the comments below.
Morbius hits theaters July 31, 2020.
1. Meet Michael Morbius
Our first moment in the trailer serves as an introduction to Dr. Michael Morbius--yes, that's his real name, don't worry too much about it--as a child. Much like Steve Rogers, he was a sickly, weak kid, vulnerable to bullying thanks to his rare blood disease that left his body twisted and deformed. It looks like the film is going for a slightly modified interpretation of Morbius's origin, however. In the comics, he was raised in Greece and kept mostly isolated by his mother. In the movie, it seems he's attending some sort of boarding or prep school.
2. Twice the Jared
Jared Harris (Chernobyl, The Terror) has had a great run lately, leaning into his ability to sound both stern and dire as he delivers exposition, and it seems like he'll be continuing his hot streak here in Morbius. He's apparently playing Morbius's "mentor," though we're not entirely sure which--if any--Marvel Comics character that wind up being. It's likely that Harris's character will be a major reveal, possibly one of Morbius's villains or rivals like Doctor Paine, or potentially one of his on-again-off-again teammates, like a member of the Midnight Sons.
3. Dr. Morbius
We're getting a very close adaptation of Morbius's origin. He's a famed, celebrated, Nobel Prize-winning biologist in the comics before he turns to pseudo-vampirism. His life's mission is to find a cure for his own disease, and in his own words, he's "running out of time."
4. Meet Martine Bancroft
Our first shot of Adria Adjorna's Martine Bancroft happens while she stands in the lab with Morbius, who is pointedly looking at a preserved vampire bat. (No ominous foreshadowing there or anything.) Martine, in the comics, is Morbius's fiance and partner in creating the pseudo-vampiric disease.
5. Enter the vampire
"It's not exactly legal," Morbius explains, referring to his experimental treatment to, uh, get absolutely demolished by a bunch of bats while standing in a very sci-fi-looking electric field. This, for as ridiculous as it sounds and looks on screen, is actually a pretty close adaptation of Morbius's real origin moment, which involved vampire bat blood and electricity. You know, that classic, very scientific combination.
6. Pseudo-Vampirism
Critically, it's important to note that Morbius isn't actually a vampire, at least not by the Marvel Comics definition. He's a pseudo, or a "living" vampire--which basically means he's got all the bells and whistles of a vampire, with the critical distinction being that he's not actually undead. In the movie, it seems like we're getting a pretty similar situation--Morbius has all his vampiric powers--but in the comics, the transformation makes him look even more grotesque than he did when he was wasting away to his disease. Here, in live-action, the transformation apparently just made him super, super buff--at least most of the time. We can't say we're totally surprised.
7. A bulleted list of powers.
Just in case you were confused about what exactly a pseudo-vampire can do, Morbius himself gives a helpful rundown of his powers in the form of a list while we get brief clips of him demonstrating each of them. Increased strength and speed, the ability to use echolocation, and of course, an overpowering urge to consume blood. The works.
8. Spider-Man: Murderer?
In one of the most interesting shots of the trailer, we see Morbius (in an orange prison jumpsuit, meaning he most likely ends up caught at some point or another) walking past a graffiti mural of Spider-Man with "murderer" spray-painted over it. This is an obvious nod to the graffiti murals of Tony Stark we saw back in Spider-Man: Far From Home with a twist--remember now that, thanks to Mysterio's video, the world not only knows who Peter Parker is, but they believe he killed Quinten Beck in cold blood.
Does this shot mean that Morbius is actually taking place in the MCU? It certainly seems like it--though, it is also important to note that the actual image used in the art isn't referencing a suit we've seen on Tom Holland. It's a screenshot from the Sony Spider-Man video game. So it's probably best to not expect Holland himself to be making any direct cameos.
9. Simon Stroud
Our first shot of Tyreese Gibson's Simon Stroud comes at what looks to be a dramatic standoff in the woods. In the comics, Stroud is a CIA agent turned SHIELD operative who faces off against Morbius and his hoards of genetically engineered pseudo-vampires. Notably, Stroud seems to be wearing some sort of armor on his right arm. We're not entirely sure what it is, exactly, but chances are it's going to be important to the plot in one way or another.
10. Loxias Crown
Matt Smith's Loxias Crown can be seen here in a brief moment, stalking through what might be a subway station. In the comics, Crown is a pseudo-vampire-slash-mutant-slash-HYDRA agent who goes by the name Hunger and faces off against Morbius (and assorted other heroes in his, you know, villainous deeds.) The name "Loxias" was invented for the movie, and by the look of Smith in the trailer--which is to say, a normal, suit-wearing human rather than a gaunt, long-haired mall goth--we can assume that we're going to be getting an entirely new spin on the character.
11. Full Morbius mode
Though it seems like the experiment just made Jared Leto super buff rather than totally monstrous, live-action Morbius does seem to have the ability to physically transform into a version of himself that is closer to his comic book look. We get a brief shot here of him in full living vampire mode with his grey skin and upturned nose, complete with his huge fangs and red eyes.
12. Vulture?!
The most shocking part of the trailer is kept for the very end: A surprise cameo of Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes, aka Vulture, who was last seen in Spider-Man: Homecoming after he was defeated by Peter and imprisoned. Here it would seem he's out--legally or illegally, we can't say--and very aware of Morbius. "Got tired of doing the whole good guy thing, huh?" He teases as Morbius approaches him. Is this a potential team-up in the making? Are Toomes and Morbius friends or rivals? And where does Spider-Man fit into any of this?
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