Morbius Director Knew Major Avengers: Endgame Spoiler While Filming
Morbius director Daniel Espinosa reveals that he knew the fate of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark before Avengers: Endgame was released. Espinosa directs the latest entry in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, with Morbius joining Venom and Venom: Let Their Be Carnage in the franchise focused on the Marvel hero and his supporting cast. Morbius stars Jared Leto as the titular character, alongside Matt Smith, Tyrese Gibson, Adria Arjona, and Jared Harris.
While Marvel Studios has slowly rebuilt its catalog of available characters that it owns the rights to, there are still certain characters that fall outside of their ownership, most notably those associated with Spider-Man, who are owned by Sony and are utilized in their own universe. Despite different studios having their own intentions, both Marvel and Sony have collaborated before, as seen with Tom Holland's MCU incarnation of the character, as well as surrounding characters such as Michael Keaton's Vulture. As such, there are moments when creatives inside each studio are able to gain insight into in-development projects, be it to avoid conflicting characters or share certain elements.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Espinosa jokes about the secrecy surrounding Marvel projects, revealing that he heard whispers of one of Avengers: Endgame's most pivotal moments. Espinosa explains that when Morbius had started filming in February 2019, the final film of the MCU's Infinity Saga had yet to be released, and Espinosa had heard some of the smaller secrets about the upcoming movie. However, he remembers that someone had also whispered to him about Tony Stark's death, with the director keeping each detail a closely held secret. Check out Espinosa's response below.
When we started [filming], Avengers: Endgame hadn't been released either. There were tons of small secrets. I remember when somebody whispered to me that Tony Stark was going to die. Those were secrets that I had to hold very close.
Hawkeye directors Bert and Bertie discussed the studios' secrecy previously following the release of the Disney+ series, shedding some light on how the then-unreleased Spider-Man: No Way Home affected aspects of Hawkeye. During a podcast appearance, the directors explained that while they had been given insight into the development of Black Widow to inform them of Yelena's (Florence Pugh) story, the studio had kept any details regarding the upcoming Spider-Man movie under tight wraps - despite the shared setting of New York in the holidays, and cameos in each project by Daredevil stars. The duo elaborated by saying things were kept on a need-to-know basis, with only relevant details being shared among projects, such as the renovated Statue of Liberty.
While Sony is intent on developing its own shared Spider-Man universe through Venom, Morbius, Kraven the Hunter, and Madame Web, complete with it's own live-action incarnation of the hero, it is assumed the studio will continue to collaborate with Marvel on future appearances by Holland's Spider-Man. However, while the studios do work together, it appears that Espinosa learning of Tony Stark's fate may have been a happy accident, given Bert and Bertie's previous comments. While Espinosa had the great responsibility of holding back one of the MCU's biggest moments, the director managed to keep quiet even during his own Marvel production, maintaining the secrecy of one of Avengers: Endgame's greatest scenes.
Source: Digital Spy