With Sony's Spider-Man spinoff, Morbius, only weeks away, there still remain several unanswered questions about the film's plot and setting, leaving many fans confused as to where the movie fits in on the larger scale of the grand cinematic multiverse.
One of the most confounding elements of the movie is that, though it is expected to take place in Sony's Venomverse, it also features the reappearance of Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes, a.k.a. the Vulture, who is native to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many fans have been left wondering how Keaton's character might fit into the film, producing several prevailing theories about how that may occur.
It's Just Stunt Casting
After playing what is still considered by some to be Spider-Man: Homecoming was perhaps the best part of that particular film, causing fans to be quite eager to see his inevitable return to the role. As such, it may be possible that Sony's creative team saw an opportunity to capitalize on fan expectations, casting Keaton in a role other than the Vulture, all while making it seem as if he was reprising his role from Spider-Man.
While this idea may initially sound too callous of a strategy on the part of Sony and Marvel, there is some precedent in recent years for just such a case of stunt casting as this. Evan Peters's return as Pietro Maximoff in WandaVision was met with humongous excitement from fans, who believed the Fox X-Men were on their way to the MCU, only for it later to be revealed that Peters was nothing more than a facsimile of the beloved Quicksilver we all know. Though the team at Sony and Marvel likely won't go down this road again, fans must remain prepared for the possibility that Keaton won't be playing the Vulture in Morbius at all.
Morbius Is In The MCU
For a long time, it was generally considered that the only films that took place in the MCU were those specifically crafted by the team at Marvel Studios. However, after the recent partnership between Marvel and Sony, which has included the canonization of previous Spider-Man franchises as alternate realities, it wouldn't be out of the question for fans to expect the events of Morbius to occur in the Marvel Cinematic Universe itself, despite Marvel Studios having little to do with the project.
Though this would be an unprecedented occurrence thus far in the MCU, Sony has long wanted its properties to converge with Marvel's insanely popular franchise, hinting that the characters from their own cinematic universe could one day meet Tom Holland's Spider-Man. However, certain lines from the Morbius trailers seem to negate this theory, referencing the events of Venom, which has been confirmed to exist in a reality outside of the MCU proper.
No Way Home Fallout
There's no doubt that ended with several major implications for the character, but perhaps there was also fallout that was not shown in the film's runtime. After the spell that nearly broke the multiverse was replaced with an equally reality-bending spell, it just may be that, while certain characters like Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin were returned to their respective universes, others, like Toomes himself, found themselves dropped off in foreign realities wherein they don't belong.
It is no secret that Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will deal with the fallout of Strange's choices during No Way Home. It appears as though the multiverse itself will never quite be the same, with reality having been broken irreparably. It wouldn't be outside the realm of reason to suspect that Keaton's Vulture fell victim to a "glitch" in the sorcerer's final spell, taken away to the world of Dr. Michael Morbius and Tom Hardy's Venom, with, quite appropriately, no way home.
The Jameson Effect
The MCU has recently introduced the concept of "nexus beings," or characters that remain intimately tied with the multiverse and their variants throughout. On a lesser scale are those who have the same appearance throughout each alternate reality. It may prove true that every universe's Adrian Toomes looks just like the one from the MCU.
Sony and Marvel have already played with this concept when it comes to characters like J. Jonah Jameson, who is played by J.K. Simmons in both the Sam Raimi and Jon Watts Spider-Man films. Given that the character has not appeared in any other live-action films, it may be that he wears the same face no matter what universe he belongs in. So also may prove to be the case with the Vulture, who could easily be played by Michael Keaton no matter the universe, explaining his similar appearance in Morbius.
Multiversal Collision
Disney+'s 's mind-bending sci-fi themes changed the multiverse as audiences know it in the final episode of the series, as the variant Sylvie killed He Who Remains, a variant of Kang the Conqueror himself, causing the multiverse to cave in on itself. Some have theorized that, when this happens, certain multiverses collided in an Incursion event that has somehow combined the MCU with the Venomverse, and therefore with the world of Morbius.
Should this theory be proven correct, Morbius may take place in a reality that has just been combined with the MCU, causing great confusion around the world, perhaps paving the way for men like Adrian Toomes to wreak havoc in search of personal gain. This would also explain recent comments from Jared Leto himself indicating that he and Tom Holland's Spider-Man could face off one day.
Madame Web
Recently, Spider-Man fans were surprised at the announcement of a Madame Web spinoff film starring Dakota Johnson in the main role. Comics fans know that Web plays a major role in the multiverse of Spider-Man characters, almost always appearing in events featuring Spider-Men from different worlds. The existence of a spinoff film centering around this character could indicate that Sony has big plans for the Spider-Verse moving forward--plans which certainly would include Morbius the Living Vampire and the Vulture.
There are many Spider-Man-adjacent characters that could appear in the Madame Web movie, many of whom fall into Spider-Man's Rogues Gallery. With Sony long planning to set up a Sinister Six team-up film, Madame Web might be the bridge to connect supervillains from different universes into just such a team. Fans should expect more about Madame Web's mystery film as time goes on, all the while keeping their eyes peeled for any hints that her multiversal skill set might be explored therein.
The Leftovers Theory
After the post-credits scenes of both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, there is no denying that the two franchises exist in alternate realities from one another. Nevertheless, the former of these two films proved that interdimensional traveling between alternating universes is not only possible but surprisingly easy. And, given, the world-breaking nature of No Way Home, some have theorized that a brand new universe was created in the aftermath of the film's finale, creating a type of"leftover universe."
The finale of No Way Home saw countless Spider-Man-adjacent entities nearly enter the MCU, only to be sent away by Doctor Strange's final spell. However, the film never shows exactly what happened to all the figures in the sky after the spell closed. The Leftovers Theory suggests that some, rather than returning to their own homeworlds, instead wound up in a brand new reality, one that features various pieces from each Spider-Man universe thus far. This would allow for Toomes and Morbius to exist in the same reality, along with Tom Hardy's Venom, Aaron Taylor-Johnson's Kraven, Dakota Johnson's Madame Web, as well as any number of other Spider-Man-related characters. Should this theory prove true, it would add yet another world to the ever-expanding Spider-Verse and inch Sony's plan forward to create their long-sought Sinister Six film.
