Yeah, I know it was unlikely. But as I plunked down my $12.99 monthly fee for Disney+ (I sprung for the Hulu/ESPN+ bundle, ‘cause YOLO), a small piece of my heart asked a hopeful, hopelessly naive question: “Can I stream either of the MCUSpider-Manmovies on Disney+?” Now, thanks to reporting fromThe Verge, the answer is a cold, heartless, J. Jonah Jameson-esque “No!”
If you’re not familiar with theSpider-Man/MCU/Disney/Sony drama, I’ll give you a quick recap. Sony used to own the live-action motion picture rights forSpider-Man, yielding a 2000sSam Raimi/Tobey Maguiretrilogy, and then a 2010sMarc Webb/Andrew Garfieldaborted franchise reboot. As the MCU started picking up steam around the same time, fans wondered the same thing: “When the heck will Peter Parker show up?” And then, thanks to some canny behind-the-scenes Hollywood negotiating between Sony and Disney (Sony still technically owns the character and films centered on him, but Disney gets creative control), he totally did!Captain America: Civil Warboasted a phenomenal entrance for the web-slinger, and a powerhouse performance from the endearingTom Holland. Then, we got two damn solo MCU Spider-flicks (HomecomingandFar From Home) and some incredible moments in ensemble pictures likeAvengers: Infinity War(“I don’t feel so good”? I’m crying already!). Then… Sony was like “Never mind.” And Spider-Man was yanked away from the MCU… for all of, like, a week. Thanks in part to some pleading between Holland and Disney CEOBob Iger, Parker swung back to the MCU in a similar deal with Sony. All’s well that ends well, right?
Mostly. For despite all of (because all of?) this drama, we still can’t watch any soloSpider-ManMCU movies on Disney+, and we likely never will. Disney+ head of contentRicky Straussput it bluntly:
We love our friends at Sony, but we don’t have any plans to have the live-action Spider-Man movies on Disney+. We will have all the Spider-Man animated shows that we did so they’ll be on there under the Marvel banner. But who knows what can happen in the future?
For more Disney+ drama, check outthe best literal dramas you can watch on Disney+.
