In case you missed it, Tuesday, while promoting the 10th installment of the Fast and the Furious franchise (F9) with Comicbook.com‘s Brandon Davis actor and singer Tyrese told him that his next film Morbius was indeed part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He also went ahead and said that the film’s release date had been moved to October to take advantage of all the “Halloween energy” – he did not specify which year though.
If you haven’t seen the interaction, you can check it out down below.
As you might imagine, the internet went into a frenzy over the news. Not only because it “confirmed” what most had speculated since the first trailer for the film dropped over a year ago, but because it’s what fans really want. Yeah, Marvel’s Cinematic Universe is great and all, but with the rights to so many characters blocked over at Sony it would be ideal to see as many of them crossover as possible without contractual complications.
However, the story does not stop there. Hours later, the site Gamespot – not to be confused with the retailer Gamestop – put out a report stating that Sony vehemently denied all of Tyrese’s claims and that everything he told Davis was false. Sony responded to an inquiry the site sent out regarding the interview.
Just in case you lost track, we’re back at square one. As of right now, Morbius is not related to the MCU in any way, shape, or form.
While it is entirely possible for Sony to be lying to downplay a major twist or surprise in the film, this actually isn’t the first time that Tyrese has said this. In fact, he was first rumored to be connected to the MCU by someone else in the media over a year and a half ago.
In October 2019, three months prior to the release of the first Morbius trailer, tv and radio personality Charlamagne Tha God revealed on Power 105.1 that Tyrese had actually told him that the entire cast was offered deals to appear in 3 more films in the franchise and that the film took place within the MCU. You can see the entire conversation below:
Now, is it possible for Tyrese to be lying? Absolutely. Between him and Sony, someone has to be, right?
But the point here is that 1) Tyrese has absolutely nothing to lose. If he gets booted from his contract, he’s still got all that Fast and Furious money to fall back on, and 2) He’s been consistently insistent that the film does tie in to the MCU, even before we even began to speculate how given the appearances of both that Spider-Man graffiti and Adrian Toomes in the trailer.
Keeping in mind that we don’t know to what extent actors are allowed to play certain characters (i.e Michael Keaton as Toomes, J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson, etc.) and that the Spider-Verse is both in its infancy and very complicated, there’s also the possibility that Sony could be right and that Tyrese could simply be mistaken or was misunderstood.
Perhaps Morbius doesn’t take place in the MCU. In the first instance where Charlamagne mentions his contract, the context of his conversation with Tyrese isn’t entirely clear. Maybe Charlamagne mispoke. Or, if the clause does exist, maybe it was put in there on the off-chance Marvel and Sony completely make peace.
In the interview with Davis, Tyrese only ever replies, “Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate. Maybe there are stipulations that need to be met in order for his character to connect to the MCU. Maybe he’s just messing with us. Tyrese has been known to be quite the troll in the past.
Regardless of what the answer is, one thing is certain. As exciting as the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the introduction of the multiverse is, until it arrives, we’re all just going to be continuously confused.
Sources: Comicbook.com, Gamespot, Power 105.1