Those Morbius Post-Credit Scenes Weren't Part Of The Original Plan, Says Director [Exclusive]
For better or worse, Sony's Spider-Man Universe is charging forward with "Morbius" as the latest effort in the cinematic experiment. Jared Leto stars as the titular Dr. Michael Morbius, a renowned scientist with a rare blood disease who goes to such extraordinary lengths to cure himself that he ends up transforming himself into a living vampire. The long-awaited film has arrived to a less-than-positive response and much confusion as fans put together the pieces of the film that seems to have changed immensely since we first glimpsed a teaser back in 2020. Even after the credits roll on this film, a couple more head-scratching moments await: A pair of post-credits scenes hint at the next chapter of Morbius' story, raising even more questions for us to ponder. And while those pesky superhero NDAs will keep us from getting the juiciest answers just yet, we still managed to glean some insight from a recent chat with "Morbius" director Daniel Espinosa.
When Morbius meets The Vulture
If you think back to the way, way distant past, you'll remember that "Morbius" was originally set to release in 2020, long before "Spider-Man: No Way Home" would thrust us all into the madness of the multiverse. But thanks to the pandemic, plans changed in a big way, leading to the very delayed release of both films and switching up their order. Evidently, this led to some changes for "Morbius," altering the details of his all-too important meetup with Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes. In a conversation with /Film's Jack Giroux, director Daniel Espinosa revealed that while this interaction was always part of the plan, certain details of the scene had to be changed to match up with the release of "No Way Home." Espinosa said:
"The way that he arrives had to be changed after Spider-Man, because it showed you how he arrived. So, that was worked on, that Michael Keaton was going to meet Morbius. That was the fundamental idea that they always had."
Now that we've all seen "No Way Home," plus a couple dozen featurettes and enough behind-the-scenes footage to last us a lifetime, "Morbius" could freely reference what went down in Peter Parker's latest solo outing. In fact, the arrival of Adrian Toomes makes very direct reference to the events of "No Way Home," with a giant purple rift opening up in the sky, courtesy of Doctor Strange's spell gone wrong. This is how a very confused Vulture finds himself in an empty prison cell, where he isn't kept for very long. Despite committing his fair share of crimes back in "Spider-Man: Homecoming," in this universe, Toomes remains an innocent man. The second post-credits scene sees him meeting up with Morbius, which might just be the start of a beautiful friendship.
But why would Morbius be interested in teaming up with Vulture, anyway? Especially since there's nothing in the text of this movie that indicates that Dr. Michael Morbius has a problem with Spider-Man? Uproxx asked Espinosa that question, and his answer left something to be desired:
"I think that's more one of those scenes that are made that when you have scenes before that in a movie comes along, that will explain that reposition."
How exactly these characters fit into the Marvel-Sony plans remains unclear, but "Morbius" takes special care to load us up with endless possibilities. The film is packed with references to other characters, stories, and even the multiverse, dropping hints for, among other possibilities, the Sinister Six. We all know of The Vulture's past, and while this version of Morbius is well-meaning, the character is originally a villain who went toe-to-toe with Spider-Man before becoming a full-fledged anti-hero. Teaming up with other villains is well within his means, especially now that The Vulture has enticed him with a potential partnership.
"Morbius" is currently playing in theaters.