Is 'Morbius' part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe?

Sony officially released the trailer for Morbius earlier this week, delivering a teaser for the kind of origin story we hoped for. And while the entire trailer was tantalizing, the most interesting moment came at the very end.

In the trailer's final seconds, Michael Morbius (Jared Leto) runs into Adrian Toomes (Michael Keaton) outside of a hospital. The Vulture isn't in his high-tech suit or sporting anything sinister, but his presence implies a few things about the film.

For one, the Vulture making a cameo means Morbius is directly tied to the MCU. The film is produced by Sony Pictures so it's a part of the Spider-Verse, but it's also connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe what with Peter Parker (Tom Holland) having roles in each respective world.

Another clue to Morbius taking place in the MCU is the graffiti tagged on a wall that Michael walks by. The scribble painted across a graphic of Spider-Man reads the word "Murderer", suggesting the plan to frame our favorite wall-crawler panned out. But more importantly, Spidey's fugitive status confirms this film takes place after Spider-Man: Far From Home.

Will Michael Morbius show up in the MCU alongside the Avengers?

It's worth pointing out that we don't expect to see Michael Morbius alongside the Avengers anytime soon. He may be able to crossover into the MCU with Peter Parker's help, though he's not likely to join forces with anyone right away.

There is, however, a possibility that Leto's character could show up in Doctor Strange 2. The sequel recently lost its' director Scott Derrickson and the film is in what we can call "development limbo". But that doesn't rule out Michael Morbius making a cameo.

The reason Morbius is in the position to show up alongside Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is their shared comic history. The Sorcerer Supreme's comic counterpart has had more than his fair share of encounters with vampires, so it's feasible for the live-action version to battle similar threats. And with Morbius being the only known vampire in the superhero universe, he's a perfect candidate to battle it out with Strange.

While their comic history is a good indication of what's to come, the other reason Morbius and Doctor Strange may be crossing paths is the Multiverse aspect. Seeing as how Strange will presumably travel through various universes — observing the alternate realities that exist — he could land in the Spider-Verse where Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and Michael Morbius reside. The trip would probably be a brief one, just remember that it's entirely plausible for Strange to be attacked by a pack of vampires while abroad.

In that scenario, Strange could choose to remain in an alternate universe until the vampire threat is dealt with. Such a proposal would imply that he's leaving the prime universe behind for good and there's nothing wrong with it.

Now that Thanos has been wiped from existence, Strange is free to travel the Multiverse at his leisure. He could call a different universe his new home but odds are Strange will return to the main reality following his adventures in Doctor Strange 2.

Does Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man exist in this universe?

Potential cameos aside, the graffiti mentioned above holds a Spider-Man Easter Egg with all kinds of implications. The biggest of those being that Tobey Maguire's version of Peter Parker exists in the Spider-Verse.

The graphic spoken of above depicts the Spider-Man from Sam Raimi's movies in it rather than the modernized version portrayed by Holland. Placement of this Easter Egg could've simply been done as an homage to the most well-liked depiction of Spider-Man, but maybe a retcon is in the works.

Fans have been campaigning to get Maguire's version of Spider-Man into the MCU, and most fans would be okay with rewriting the timeline a bit to resurrect that version of Peter Parker. Perhaps he'll show up as a result of Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) messing with reality.

Wanda Maximoff is going to craft a world for herself and Vision (Paul Bettany) in the upcoming WandaVision series, where her toying with reality could thrust the Peter Parker of an alternate universe into the MCU. The only question is: Can Disney convince Tobey Maguire to reprise his role as Peter Parker one last time?

Regardless, the question of whether or not Morbius is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is something that'll be debated over quite a bit in the coming months. The obvious clues point to yes, but we can't say for certain.

Do you think Morbius is officially a part of the MCU? Or is it a standalone from Sony's Spider-Verse? Let us know in the comments.