New Sony Marketing Puts Morbius With Spider-Man in MCU

The web between Sony and Marvel Studios continues to get more and more tangled. After Michael [...]

The web between Sony and Marvel Studios continues to get more and more tangled. After Michael Keaton appeared in the trailer for Morbius as his Adrian Toomes character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, relenetless speculation of whether or not the Jared Leto movie was a part of the MCU has raged on. Since, set photos which feature a Daily Bugle logo have also surfaced, tying the movie to the post-credits scene of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The logo seen on set raised some questions as it is the Daily Bugle design from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man movies and not those of Jon Watts. Now, that same logo has appeared in a Spider-Man fan account which pretends to exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and be operated by Flash Thompson, a character portrayed by Tony Revolori in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

On the story of the Spider-Man fan account on Monday, a screenshot of a Daily Bugle article asking where Spider-Man is was shared. The account put its own caption over the screenshot, reading, "You know, I sometimes miss when the world wasn't being destroyed by vampires, aliens, and flying robot people." It's a reference to Morbius, the attack on New York in The Avengers or Thanos himself in Avengers: Endgame, and a mysterious "flying robot people."

The "flying robot people" could be a reference to Ultron's robots in Avengers: Age of Ultron, the drones which operated Mysterio's illusions in Spider-Man: Far From Home, or a hint at the villain to come in the third Spider-Man movie which hits theaters next summer.

At the top of the image, "A VAMPIRE IN NEW YORK," is one of the day's top headlines, with a subtest: "5th Vampire sighting reported in NY." With Morbius on the way and Blade not far, it seems Sony is going all in on (at the very least) acting like their movies and stories exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Check out a screen from Flash Thompson's Instagram account in the tweet below.

More interesting is the date on the screenshot. It is dated for March 14, 2020. Spider-Man had not been framed as the killer of Mysterio in the Marvel Cinematic Universe until after Avengers: Endgame brought the movie up to 2023. Could this be a play on Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man going missing and Morbius is actually operating in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man world, a parallel universe to the MCU when Adrian Toomes also looks like Michael Keaton? The account is supposed to be run by Flash Thompson, a character who was a victim of The Blip, so technically he shouldn't even exist in 2020. It's a mind-numbing conversation and one we're going to be having until July when Morbius reveals itself as either a part of the MCU, a part of Raimi's world, or none of the above.

The photo posted to the story is ultimately fan art by SPDRMNKYXXIII, which is likely the reason for the date to be wrong, but its sharing on to the Flash Thompson account is no less interesting with its connecting of the Marvel Studios and Sony titles.

Do you think Sony's Marvel movies should exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Are they headed towards the live-action Spider-Verse crossover many are hoping for? Share your thoughts in the comment section or send them my way on Instagram and Twitter!

Morbius is set to hit theaters on July 31. Spider-Man 3 will release nearly a year later, starting production this summer and releasing on July 16, 2021.

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