The leading actor from The Spectacular Spider-Man shared new insight into how Disney sabotaged the fan-favorite '90s web-slinger series. The series had a two-season run in the late 2000s on The CW and Disney XD, but even with all the success it garnered from Marvel fans, it could have been so much more if decisions had been made differently.
Spider-Man star Josh Keaton spoke out on how Disney sabotaged the efforts of The Spectacular Spider-Man during its run on TV. Keaton earned massive praise for his work as Peter Parker in this animated series. However, he saw the inner workings behind the scenes and realized how the show's parent company put forth little effort into helping it succeed.
Speaking with voice acting legend Jim Cummings on the Toon'd In podcast, Keaton explained how the show was cut short, as it aired near the time when "Disney was going to buy Marvel." That massive transaction happened while Season 2 was being recorded, but the show was never officially canceled or picked up. The cast was told they would headline Disney XD, but when that happened, "they showed the episodes out of order" and never promoted the series:
"I mean, we got cut short, because that was that was right around the time that Disney was going to buy Marvel. So we did a season, it was critically acclaimed, it was getting great ratings. And then we were doing Season 2, and while we were recording Season 2 was when Disney bought Marvel, and they basically never cancelled us and never picked us up. They just never said anything. But they told us, 'Oh, you're going to be headlining our new network, Disney XD.' But then, when they put us on Disney XD, they showed the episodes out of order, they kept changing the times that it was going to air, they never really did any promotion..."
It then became difficult to build an audience for the series due to the eventual move to Kids' WB, which was not available to most viewers at the time.
When asked if the show could come back, Keaton explained how Sony owns the rights to The Spectacular Spider-Man, while Disney owns the rights to using Spider-Man in a TV setting otherwise. Should Disney want to remake The Spectacular Spider-Man, the company "would have to basically pay Sony to license the show:"
"Yeah... they made it hard to get an audience. And also, we went from being on network TV, Kids' WB, to a network that really, at the time, was only on like dish network. If you didn't have dish network, you didn't have Disney.. Very obscure. And so, yeah I mean, the way it all worked out, because people are always asking me, 'Could it ever come back?' And the thing is. is that Disney now owns the rights to the character of Spider-Man for TV, right? But Sony still owns the rights to the show, 'The Spectacular Spider-Man.' So if Disney wanted to continue making it, they would have to basically pay Sony to license the show, so they could keep making it. But, why would they do that? They're like, 'We can just make our own show.'"
Reflecting on how well the show did when it was on Netflix and Disney+, he further explained how the episodes were all out of order (similar to what previously happened with X-Men: The Animated Series). Keaton noted how the episode order was never fixed for The Spectacular Spider-Man before it disappeared completely when Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse left theaters:
"They briefly did they did, right when '[Spider-Man]: Across the Spider-Verse' was going to come out. They had it on there. And I think that the reason they even put it on there is that Netflix put it on there. Sony put it on Netflix and this show, that had been absent from media for all these years, was like trending #1 on Netflix. It did amazing on Netflix. It brought a whole new generation of kids into 'The Spectacular Spider-Man.' And then when that happened Disney XD put it on Disney XD. [They] still had the season finale and another thing out of order. They still never fixed it and so they had it on there out of order. And then, once the movie was out of theaters, it disappeared again. Yeah, it's been Parker luck one time, one thing after the other, you know?"
While plans were in place for a third season of The Spectacular Spider-Man (and beyond), Disney did not seem to do its due diligence in making sure fans were aware of the series' run on TV.
The Spectacular Spider-Man had a two-year run centered on the titular friendly neighborhood web-slinger in a coming-of-age story showing Peter Parker's social and school life. Also working a part-time job, Josh Keaton's hero had to balance all angles of his life, telling classic Spidey stories with him in high school and fighting criminals.
Spider-Man's Future on TV & Streaming
In recent years, Spider-Man has made a few appearances in various streaming and TV shows, mostly for Marvel Studios. Along with an appearance in Season 1 of What If...?, he led the way in Season 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in 2025, which will move forward into Season 2 when the calendar turns to 2026.
This is just one of multiple web-slinging TV projects set to feature Spider-Man or Spider-Man-adjacent characters over the next couple of years. Those other entries include Nicolas Cage's Spider-Noir show on Amazon Prime Video and Season 4 of Spidey and His Amazing Friends on Disney+ and Disney Jr.
The widely popular hero will also make his way to the big screen in 2026 with Tom Holland's fourth MCU solo movie, Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Rumors further indicate a role in 2026's Avengers: Doomsday as well.
Although the odds of The Spectacular Spider-Man continuing into a third season seem low, the young hero has no shortage of major releases on the horizon.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
