Disney+ just got the Spider-Man deal you’ve been waiting for

The next Spider-Man film will hopefully hit theaters a few days before Christmas, which is the perfect time of the year to release such a blockbuster. The launch window isn’t the only thing that would turn Spider-Man: No Way Home into a massive success. It’s the film’s premise that makes it a more exciting Spider-Man adventure than anything Sony made in the last two decades — counting this year’s film; we’re at eight live-action films with three different Peter Parker versions. As a reminder, Far From Home packed the perfect cliffhanger: the planet learned the identity of Spider-Man, and the hero was framed for murdering another purported superhero. Add to that all the multiverse leaks that we’ve witnessed in the past few months, and Spider-Man 3 will probably become a staple of MCU Phase 4, one of those movies you’ll have to rewatch before the next massive Avengers 5 crossover.

In light of all that, Disney fixed its Disney+ MCU problem in the best possible way. On Wednesday, the studio announced an essential partnership with Sony to bring all Spider-Man films to Disney+ in a reasonable time.

Disney and Sony announced a multi-year content licensing deal for US streaming, including TV rights to Sony’s new theatrical releases. The agreement covers all Sony Pictures movies from 2022 to 2026 and begins for each film following its Pay 1 TV window. Marvel fans might spot two problems right off the bat, but both can be explained with ease.

First of all, the Pay 1 TV window indicates that Sony movies will not be available on Disney+ and Hulu as fast as Netflix — Sony announced a massive deal with Netflix only a few weeks ago. The distribution order for a new Sony film will follow this path: theatrical launch, home video, Netflix (Pay 1 window), and then Disney+/Hulu. So you might have to wait for some nine months for a Sony film to hit Disney+. But the point here is that those films, Spider-Man properties included, will be available on Disney’s streaming services.

The second problem is that the deal covers new movies launching from 2022 through 2026, and No Way Home will hit theaters in mid-December 2021. It would appear that the highly-anticipated Spider-Man film will isn’t covered in the new Disney-Sony deal.

However, Disney explained in its press release that the agreement also covers a “significant number” of iconic Sony Pictures titles, including Jumani, Hotel Transylvania, and Sony Pictures’ Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC) films that include Spider-Man movies. Disney says that the new deal will provide Hulu access to a “significant number” of Sony titles this June.

If the five Spider-Man films that Sony made without Marvel are coming to Disney+, it’s safe to assume that the three properties included in the MCU will also hit the streamer. This includes Homecoming, Far From Home, and, hopefully, No Way Home. That’s just speculation, as the announcement doesn’t make any explicit mention of the MCU films. But those are the films any MCU fan will want to see, and the Spider-Man flicks that Disney needs for its streaming service.

That said, it’s unclear when Sony’s five Spider-Man, starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, will be released on Disney+. Hopefully, it all happens before December. Without getting too deep into No Way Home spoilers, there’s a strong case for rewatching all five Spider-Man that precede the MCU trilogy.