MCU fans are accustomed to Marvel movies landing on Disney+ after a theatrical release. Spider-Man: No Way Home will spin its streaming web elsewhere.
Unlike typical MCU movie releases, Spider-Man: No Way Home doesn't have a home on Disney+, so where will it stream instead? The speed with which Marvel movies hit Disney+ has been greatly accelerated by the worldwide theater closures that began mere months after the streaming service's official launch. Pre-pandemic, you'd expect Disney blockbusters to arrive at Mickey's in-house platform approximately 6 months after premiering theatrically, but we're now seeing drastically condensed time frames. Black Widow released - as Disney's PR team knows all too well - simultaneously in theaters and online, while Shang-Chi & The Legend of the Ten Rings were afforded only 2-month head starts.
Next on Marvel's streaming docket is Spider-Man: No Way Home, which premiered theatrically in December 2021, and represents the first major studio tent-pole since the pandemic began to draw seriously big box office numbers. Tom Holland's third MCU solo effort harnesses the might of the multiverse to summon back old favorites from Sam and Marc Webb's movies, and is still climbing toward that $2 billion target. Those who haven't ventured into theaters (or who did, but can't wait to relive the web-slinging triumvirate from the comfort of their own sofa) may be anticipating Spider-Man: No Way Home will follow Shang-Chi and Eternal onto Disney+ imminently. Due to Peter Parker's tangled movie rights ownership, however, that isn't the case.
Spider-Man: No Way Home Secretly Solved Its Big Elector Plot Hole
Unlike other MCU (not Hulk, he's a whole different story), Spider-Man's movie rights belong with Sony, sold to them by Marvel back when cinematic domination was but a distant dream. Tom Holland's presence in the MCU is only possible via a deal between both sides, essentially making Spider-Man: No Way Home (and its two previous installments) co-productions between Marvel Studios and Sony. And because Sony handles the distribution end of that arrangement, Spider won't be following his fellow Avengers from theaters onto Disney+. Instead, Spider-Man: No Way Home will stream on Stars. The exact date is yet to be determined, but will be within the next 6 months, according to the service's CEO.
Annoyingly, the deal between Sony and Stars (no relation to the Disney-owned Star platform) has expired, and Sony movies released between now and 2026 - Spider-Man included - will stream on Netflix before finding their way onto Disney+. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the final film to fall under the Sony Stars streaming umbrella, which means Peter Parker's multiverse mashup won't be appearing on Disney+ (or, indeed, Netflix) at any point in the foreseeable future. Fortunately, Mickey Mouse can still complete his MCU streaming Infinity Gauntlet... eventually. The kind of "pay 1 window" deal between Sony and Stars typically runs for around 18 months. So, if Spider-Man: No Way Home begins streaming in August 2022, for example, that'll run until early 2024, at which point we could finally see the prequel on Disney+.
There will, understandably, be disappointment over Spider-Man: No Way Home's streaming release plans. The downside of these so-called "streaming wars" is the sheer volume of platforms vying for our subscription fees. Consumers will typically pick one or two services with content that appeals to them most, but things get tricky when a single franchise (in this case the MCU) is split between providers, forcing completions fans to consider purchasing a subscription they perhaps wouldn't otherwise. Spider-Man: No Way Home's streaming shenanigans are, however, just another wrinkle caused by the wider Sony-Marvel deal. The alternative is not having Tom Holland playing in the MCU's sandbox at all.
Why Spider-Man: No Way Home Won't Be On Disney+ (Where Will It Stream?)
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