With Marvel slowing down on releasing new content for the time being, fans are starting to take a closer look at the Morbius trailer to see what MCU easter eggs they can dig up. The Morbius movie is being made by Sony, meaning the timeline for the film is meant to be different from the main timeline in the MCU. However, a Reddit fan theory speculates that the Morbius movie has more to do with the MCU than meets the eyes.
Some other fans have also noticed the Morbius trailer making connections to the multiple different Spider-Man series that have brought Peter Parker to the big screen throughout the years. Marvel has already hinted at there being a Spider-Man and Venom crossover, so the possibility of there being more than one Sony-Marvel mixup seems likely, especially since Morbius is a Spider-Man adjacent character.
The fan theory proposed by Reddit user Tychopotts says that the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home will directly influence the setting of Morbius, based on how Doctor Strange handles the multiversal crises he’s thrown into. The movies are being released pretty close together, with No Way Home hitting theaters December 17 of this year and Morbius coming out at the end of January 2022. If the theory holds any truth, perhaps Marvel and Sony coordinated the release dates on purpose, so that fans could see No Way Home before watching Morbius.
Tychopotts pointed out that the Morbius trailer includes various elements from the Tom Holland, Andrew Garfield, and Tobey Maguire Spider-Man movies. The Oscorp building is visible amongst the cityscape, there’s a poster of Garfield’s Spider-Man hanging on the wall with the word “murderer'' written over it, and Holland’s Homecoming foe, the Vulture, appears in the trailer amongst many more references to all 3 Spider-Man timelines.
MCU fans are already well aware of the fact that villains from all timelines will be popping up to tussle with the heroes in Spider-Man: No Way Home, due to the catastrophic magic mishap depicted in the No Way Home trailer. The Reddit theory proposes that the reason Morbius contains elements from the different Spider-Man timelines is because Strange made another mistake when trying to vanquish the bag guys that wormed their way into the central MCU timeline. Instead of sending each villain back to their respective version of the universe, the Reddit user said, Strange will end up morphing all three of the Spider-Man timelines, which results in a single, mottled timeline where all Spider-Man variants and villains coexist.
It would explain the mix-matched Spider-Man elements in the Morbius trailer, which also includes references to Sony’s Venom series. Given the rumors circulating about a new Venom and Spider-Man project, the connection between Venom and Morbius, and the reappearance of Homecoming’s villain in the trailers, it’s hard not to assume some sort of multiversal crossover is in the works.
Holland’s contract with Marvel is up after No Way Home hits theaters, so the fate of his Spider-Man is still up in the air. That’s not to say that Holland will never reprise his role, but the logistics of where, when, and how haven’t been worked out just yet. It’s hard to tell whether or not Marvel is gearing up to bring Sony characters into the MCU, or if Sony is preparing themselves to bring the MCU Spider-Man into their neck of the woods. If the franchises are preparing to move Spider-Man elsewhere, having Holland join the Sony universe would certainly make for more great storytelling.
The Reddit user does offer some insight as to where they think Spider-Man and the rest of the franchise is headed after No Way Home. The theory says that the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home and the (supposed) convergence of Spider-Man timelines in Morbius could easily set the precedent for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Reddit user proposed the idea that the potential convergence of Spider-Man timelines at the end of No Way Home results in Holland’s Peter Parker disappearing somewhere else in the multiverse, outside of the main MCU timeline. His disappearance, the theory says, is what serves as the catalyst for the Multiverse of Madness, because Strange will undoubtedly go on a search across the multiverse to undo his mistake and bring Peter home.
It’s already been confirmed that Scarlet Witch will be featured in the Multiverse of Madness alongside Strange, and the WandaVision post-credit scene showed her surrounded by a cloud of her own magic as she tries to bring back her children, who are crying out for her somewhere in the world.
Despite the hype that Doctor Strange 2 has received, there still isn’t much known about the actual plot, other than the fact that Strange is doing research about the Time Stone. If he and Wanda are teaming up and both on the hunt for someone (assuming the Reddit theory to be true), the Time Stone would certainly be a valuable tool for both of them to travel through reality and regain what they’ve lost.