Morbius star Tyrese Gibson said the film takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Sony disagrees.
During an interview with ComicBook.com, Gibson was asked if Morbius is set in the MCU, to which the actor replied "Yes." When asked to confirm if the Avengers are in the same world as Morbius, he followed up with another "Yes." However, in a statement to the site, Sony claimed that's not true, stating Morbius resides in the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters with Venom.
The confusion around Morbius can be partially attributed to the movie's first trailer, which ends with a cameo by Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture from the 2017 MCU film Spider-Man: Homecoming. It also includes a shot of Michael Morbius walking past a mural of Spider-Man defaced by graffiti reading "Murderer." Problem is, the depiction of the web-slinger looks closer to Tobey Maguire's version from the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy, as opposed to Tom Holland's iteration from the MCU's main Earth.
Further muddying the waters, Gibson told ComicBook.com Sony "pushed [Morbius] to October because they want to take advantage of that Halloween energy." The studio did, in fact, move the film to October 8 at one point, prior to shifting it back to Jan. 28, 2022. Sony confirmed it intends to keep its current 2022 date, indicating that Gibson was simply unaware of this or forgot about the movie's more recent release date changes.
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group President Sanford Panitch recently acknowledged the confusion about which Marvel characters reside in which movie universe, promising "There actually is a plan" to connect the franchises. "I think now maybe it's getting a little more clear for people where we're headed," he added.
What's more, he assured "even more will be revealed" when Sony and Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home arrives. This lends credence to the rumors swirling around the film and its alleged multiversal storyline -- one that's confirmed to feature villains from the non-MCU Spider-Man movies, including Alfred Molina's Doc Ock.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa, Morbius stars Jared Leto as the titular character, Matt Smith as Loxias Crown, Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft, Tyrese Gibson as Agent Stroud and Jared Harris in an undisclosed role. The film arrives in theaters Jan. 28, 2022.
Source: ComicBook.com