In the US, nearly every single MCU movie can be found on Disney Plus. The only exceptions are Universal’s The Incredible Hulk and the two Sony co-productions made to date, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Far From Home. Fans had been hoping that the studios would be able to broker a deal for these latter two films, but unfortunately, that option has now been effectively ruled out, as Sony has signed a major new deal for Netflix to exclusively stream its productions from 2022 onward.
The Hollywood Reporter first revealed the details about the multi-year arrangement with the streaming giant, which gives Netflix an exclusive first pay window licensing deal in the United States. That means the company will have the rights to Sony Pictures titles following both their theatrical and home releases. So, this includes not just the Spider-Man flicks, but the studio’s non-MCU Marvel movies, too, such as the Venom, Morbius and Into the Spider-Verse franchises.
Having said that, as Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home arrive this year, they aren’t technically covered by this deal. Still, with the partnership with Netflix in place, the platform remains the most likely destination for them when they eventually hit streaming. As much as fans might want all their Marvel content in one location, then, that’s just not going to be possible moving forward.
That’s not the worst thing in the world, but there may be bigger consequences to this Sony/Netflix arrangement. Presumably, it means that Spider-Man can’t show up in any of Marvel Studios’ Disney Plus productions. That could be a major hindrance in Peter Parker’s role in the MCU from now on as we know that the House of Ideas is looking at streaming as their primary outlet these days. Spidey’s not leaving the franchise again just yet, but his presence may start to be limited.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is on course to swing into theaters this December 17th.