Venom 2 Makes Vulture In Morbius A Spider-Man Universe Problem

Warning: Contains spoilers for Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

The mind-blowing Venom: Let There Be Carnage post-credits sequence may turn Vulture's cameo in next year's Morbius into a Spider-Man Universe problem. The trailers for the upcoming Jared Leto-led film have successfully built anticipation for the live-action debut of the Living Vampire, not in small part due to a brief tease of Michael Keaton's involvement. With Venom: Let There Be Carnage's ending firmly establishing Sony's movies as outside the MCU, however, the potential return of Vulture in Morbius bears explanation and is potentially a serious continuity issue.

Naturally, when fans first glimpsed sight of Keaton in the Morbius trailer, theories about Vulture's role in Morbius were quick to sprout up. Despite the fact Keaton's reprisal of his Spider-Man: Homecoming role hasn't been officially confirmed, his quote on Marvel's interconnected universe points to a return of Adrian Toomes/Vulture. When also taking the popularity of Keaton's Vulture into account, it's a relatively safe bet to expect the character's inclusion in Morbius.

As evidenced by Let There Be Carnage's post-credits, and a potential Topher Grace connection in Venom 2, links between characters and universes can make sense in Marvel canon. Variants and the Multiverse are both established in the MCU, thanks to the Disney+ show Loki and the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home. The issue is that it's unclear which of those routes Sony is taking with their Vulture appearance, leading to the possibility that audiences are in for a disappointment.

Vulture flying in Spider-Man Homecoming.

Loki introduced the concept of variants to the MCU, allowing for versions of the same character to populate different universes. In some cases, these variants can even be played by the same actor, as suggested by Jonathan Majors' appearance in Loki and his upcoming role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The Morbius trailers do indeed point toward the existence and inevitable return of Spider-Man, but it's unclear whether or not Sony's web slinger will be played by the MCU's Tom Holland. The issue with Keaton in his case is that there is no precedent for variants in Sony's universe, and also no hints that an explanation of variants fits into the plot of Morbius.

Another possibility is that Keaton's Vulture is transported from the MCU to Sony's Spider-Man universe by the spell Dr. Strange uses in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer. This spell, which sets up the battle between Tom Holland's Spider-Man and the Sony-verse's Doc Ock and Green Goblin, also potentially brought Venom into Spider-Man: No Way Home. It's possible, then, that the spell-gone-wrong could have removed some villains like Vulture from the MCU, but this move would require even more explanation than the inclusion of variants.

The most concerning option is that Sony is more interested in the fan appeal of having Keaton in Morbius than they are about ensuring it lines up with the overall Marvel continuity. Though Marvel Studios has taken pains to be as consistent as possible in how their multiverse is explained and unraveled, it's unclear if Sony done the same with their universe. To make matters even more confusing, there is a potential Tom Hardy cameo in Morbius as well - something that will certainly need explanation considering Venom's recent trip to the MCU.

Morbius doesn't release until 2022, so there is plenty of time for speculation among potential viewers. Things may also become more clear in future trailers and peeks at the film. Hopefully, Morbius can pull off its MCU connection in as successful and surprising a way as the one in Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Next: The Venom Movies Avoid The MCU Villain Problem (By Doubling Down On It)