Spider-Man movies get major Disney+ release update

Disney+ will soon become the streaming home of a number of Spider-Man films, but not all of them. Here's why.

Five Spider-Man live-action movies will be swinging onto Disney+ very soon. But not all of the webhead's past adventures will be streaming there. Here's why.

Disney+'s Twitter announced that Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy will be available to stream on April 21. Additionally, Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man will also be available to stream on the same day. Finally, Spider-Man: Homecoming and Venom will arrive on the streaming service on May 12.

You may have noticed that a few omissions are made. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is nowhere to be found, and ditto for Homecoming's sequels Far From Home and No Way Home. But there's precedent for this.

If you're unfamiliar with Disney's relationship with the Spider-Man character, this may seem confusing. Spider-Man's in the MCU, right? So how could some of his films be missing? Sony technically owns the rights to the character, hence why Marvel's Spider-Man projects have been partnerships between Disney and Sony. It's also why Tom Holland's deal is tricky. At one point, the deal expired and fans feared he'd be stuck in Sony's own cinematic universe exempt from Iron Man and Captain America. Luckily, the two worked out an arrangement that carried through No Way Home in 2021 (and we know more Spider-Man adventures are coming).

It's a bit confusing, especially considering Sony has a bevy of spin-off projects in the works. Venom and its sequel Let There Be Carnage were seemingly existing in a separate universe from the MCU. Then post-credits scenes in the latter shook that up before No Way Home's post-credits scene once again throwing Venom back into Sony's universe. There's also a Kraven the Hunter film on the way with Aaron Taylor-Johnson coming very soon.

That must also carry over to the streaming deals. Far From Home and No War Home are currently available on Starz. Perhaps once those deals are up and the films can move once again they'll join Homecoming on Disney+.

The dance between Marvel and Sony around the Spider-Man character is awkward, but the two have made it work for some years now and at least you'll be able to watch some of the past Spider-Man movies should you desire to rewatch them.