Why Michael Keaton Didn’t Understand His ‘Morbius’ Cameo
Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) exist in ostensively different worlds, there has been a crossover between the two.
For those who don’t know, as Tom Holland has swung to prominence as Spider-Man in the MCU, Sony has been building its own Spider-Man adjacent universe.
Image Credit: Marvel
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe was initially set to launch after the release of The Amazing Spuder-Man 2. The studio’s plan was to create several villain-based spin-off films following the release of the Andrew Garfield film.
When The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was released, however, the film was a critical and box-office disappointment. Sony quickly abandoned their plans and instead decided to create a Venom stand-alone film set in its own universe. The studio also agreed to a deal with Marvel Studios to allow Spider-Man’s integration into the MCU. This deal eventually led to Tom Holland’s appearance as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War and subsequent trilogy of films.
The Birth of the SSU
Venom, meanwhile, would be released as its own universe, proving to be a box-office success. The film would be followed by a series of Spder-Man adjacent films. These included Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021, Mobius in 2022, and Madame Web earlier this year.
Source: comicbook.com
While the Sony Spider-Man Universe has yet to feature an appearance by the web-slinger himself, a connection between Holland and the MCU has been teased.
The biggest tie between Sony’s Spider-Man Universe and the MCU obviously came with Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the film, Doctor Strange casts a spell that transports characters from other Marvel universes into the MCU. The spell not only brought together Tobey McGuire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland, but it also seemingly brought the Sony Spider-Man villains into contact with the MCU.
Photo: Sony
A mid-credit scene in Let There Be Carnage shows Venom being transported into the MCU from the Sony universe by Doctor Strange’s spell. Meanwhile, the mid-credit scene of No Way Home saw him return home.
Vulture Meets Morbius
Perhaps more surprisingly, the mid-credit scene of Morbius, which takes place simultaneously with the events of No Way Home, showed Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes/Vulture transported to the Sony Spider-Man Universe. Here, he meets Morbius and makes an effort to join forces with the vampire.
While Keaton’s return as Vulture was interesting in that it seemingly set up the Sinister Six, the cameo also made no sense. For starters, it is unclear why Toomes would be transported to another Spider-Man universe, as that is not what Doctor Strange’s spell did. Additionally, somehow, the Spider-Man: Homecoming villain had somehow gotten another version of his Vulture suit.
The mid-credit scene, like the entirety of Morbius, was derided by fans who understandably believed that Vulture’s arrival in the Sony Spider-Man Universe made no sense (and that the dialogue was unbelievably bad).
Michael Keaton Was Also Confused
Interestingly, in a new interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Michael Keaton revealed that he was just as confused by his Morbius cameo as everyone else was.
Michael Keaton, Photo: D23
“No, no idea. None. Zero,” the actor said when asked if he knew what was happening during the cameo.
With both Morbius and Madame Web bombing at the box office, Marvel Studios would probably like to keep Sony as far away from their characters as possible.
Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes. Photo: Marvel
Still, we will always have that magical moment when Michael Keaton met Morbius. Even if it made no sense.
