Second Run: Morbius

Good evening CrewMembers! We officially got to see Morbius in the theater, so it's time to update the pre-viewing checklist in a "Second Run: Morbius" feature!

This feature goes further in-depth than our “Opening Night Posts” to give you a deep foundation for viewing. Please note, due to the nature of these features; SPOILERS are inherent. Please understand that we are going to believe that you want to be completely prepared for this movie. While we will try not to spoil things by “name,” things are about to be spoiled. If you'd rather just stick to the safety of the "Opening Night" post, you can jump to it by clicking here.

With Morbius finally released, there is some clarity. Obviously not EVERY question has been answered, as SONY and MARVEL have plenty of more movies coming out, but we can at least suggest a firmer checklist of films to watch if you'd like to be caught up before seeing Morbius for yourself. Since this is a SONY "in association with MARVEL" movie, let's start with...

Needs from the SONY Spider-Man Universe:

There are references to incidents that have taken place in the other SONY Spider-Man films, but you can get what you need from Venom. Venom: Let There Be Carnage isn't really necessary for any deeper meaning on this one.

Your Needs from the MCU:

In our original "Opening Night: Morbius" post, you'll remember we suggested watching both Venom movies and just Spider-Man: Homecoming from the MCU. Well, we just dropped Venom 2 from one side and we're about to add a bunch to the other.

If you've seen the trailers, and we're assuming you have, you know that Michael Keaton shows up. Previously, Michael played Adrian Toomes, aka The Vulture, in SM:HC. After watching the movie, we have a clearer picture of which Cinematic Universe Morbius resides in. In order to understand how Adrian Toomes is able to show up in the SONY Universe we suggest adding Spider-Man: No Way Home to your list. There's an extra hitch with that though. There are literally 13 other programs we suggest watching to get the full understanding of SM:NWH. For more details on that, we recommend reading our Second Run feature on No Way Home.

To be fair, the Vulture reveal comes after the movie finishes. I'm sure you've heard people talking about the "post credit/end credit/mid credit scenes." These have been a staple of MARVEL Movies since IRON MAN released in 2008. Some set up an event to come, some are just for fun, and some raise questions to be answered later. The two mid-credit scenes in Morbius do a little bit of everything. They connect the movie to other films, set up possible future events, and certainly raise some questions. If you don't have a grasp on No Way Home and its predecessor programs, the mid-credits aren't going to make much sense to you, but you aren't going to miss out on anything from the actual film itself.

Really it comes down to how much insight you want to have into Morbius and its two mid-credit scenes. If you're in it for vampires, Jared Leto, and/or Matt Smith then you can really just watch it as a stand alone film. If you're interested in dabbling in the overall universes you can certainly get away with just watching Venom and Spider-Man: Homecoming. But, if Morbius is what finally opens you up to the MARVEL Cinematic Multi-verse, you've definitely got some bingeing ahead of you.

As always, let's break it down into a checklist!

MORBIUS

Pre-Viewing Checklist

(Base level suggestions are in bold)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Venom (2018)

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)*

*If including No Way Home we suggest these programs beforehand:

Spider-Man (2002)

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2012)

Daredevil (2015-2018)

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Doctor Strange (2016)

Spider-man: Homecoming

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Venom

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Venom: Let There be Carnage (2021)

Morbius (2022)

Let us know how much beforehand knowledge you had going into the movie and what you thought about it! Please refrain from using specific spoilers, just in case.

Until then, enjoy the show!