HUMOR DISCLAIMER: This section is intended as satire and uses the tools of exaggeration, irony, or ridicule in the context of politics, current trends, recent school events, and other topical issues.

by Ben Schoenberg ‘24

Coming to theaters on April 1, 2022, Sony Pictures Morbius is no joke. Critically acclaimed method actor, Jared Leto, known for kino such as 2016’s Suicide Squad, and last year’s House Of Gucci will be starring as the film’s lead, Michael Morbius, a doctor turned Vampire-Superhero who fights bad guys like the superhero Spiderman. The film will entail a tale like no other as Morbius fans will be hyped to hear that Morbius will have a huge Marvel Cinematic Universe connection, all surrounding the surprising casting of Michael Keaton.

Appearing in the upcoming film will be the classic Spiderman villain, the Vulture, played by Michael Keaton known for his roles in Mr. Mom(1983), Jack Frost(1998), and White Noise(2005). Most audiences will assume that a Vulture cameo would mean that Morbius takes place in the MCU or that the multiversal effects of Spider-Man: No Way Home have been felt in the Sonyverse but neither of those is the case according to credible sources.

Users on the popular social media websites Tiktok and Twitter have created an epic fan theory for what Michael Keaton’s cameo will mean for Morbius and the Sonyverse as a whole. Popular Twitter user xXLetolord26 has done tons of research and found out that in 2014 Michael Keaton starred as the titular Superhero in the indie film Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and Batman Returns, another superhero film. An anonymous Tiktok user further explained that the Vultures cameo may connect the Sonyverse to the Birdmanverse and DC Extended Universe.

Previously the Sonyverse has connected its epic franchises such as Venom or Spiderman to the MCU but this will be the first time they have branched out of their symbiote-built cage. The theory was sparked by the film’s six delays from its initial July 10, 2020 release date. Morbius fans on Tiktok have speculated that during the several delays, Keaton and fellow Birdman star Emma Stone, took their time to film new scenes that saw their crime-fighting cascades continue alongside Michael Morbius. 

In regards to the DCEU, the recent announcement of The Flash’s casting of Michael Keaton as the vigilante Batman has baffled and excited many fans of the upcoming film. Keen-eyed viewers will notice that both Batman and Birdman are crime fighters played by Keaton. This will mark the first time the critically acclaimed DCEU will be seen alongside Marvel characters on the big screen.

Hopefully, the movie delivers on the multiversal crossover theories crafted by the film’s many passionate fans. Morbius will go down in box office history as a multiversal superhero epic along with the likes of Spider-man: No way Home or the upcoming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which both entail multiverse journeying adventures. The success of Morbius, whether financial or critical, all lies in the hands of Mr. Mom’s Michael Keaton.