The next superhero TV show following Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 has a different release strategy than Marvel's typical fare. Gone are the days when Marvel films were just on the big screen, with streaming and TV opening up new avenues for superhero stories to play out across episodes. The next of these shows is Sony and Amazon MGM Studios' Spider-Noir.
Spinning off of Sony's animated Into the Spider-Verse universe, Spider-Noir tells the tale of Ben Reilly, aka The Spider, which sees Nicolas Cage reprise the role he played in Spider-Verse in live-action. Spider-Noir is already taking some unique swings with its release, particularly with its color vs. greyscale viewing options, but one thing Marvel fans will need to take note of is the series' release platform.
While the majority of Marvel TV shows make their debut on Disney+, the home of all things Marvel Studios, because this Spider-Noir is a Sony Pictures and Amazon collaboration, this won't be the case. Spider-Noir will first debut in the US on MGM+ on May 25. This is two days before it releases globally on Prime Video on May 27, meaning those who want to see Spider-Noir as soon as possible will need an MGM+ subscription, or a Prime Video subscription if they want to watch it on the global release date.
MGM+ is still a relatively new streaming service, having undergone a rebrand in 2023. The service is home to a smaller slate of original programming, including Robin Hood and The Institute, with Spider-Noir one of its first major franchise originals. For that reason, many Marvel fans are probably not consistent MGM+ subscribers, but they'll need to buy in (about $7.99 per month) if they want access to Spider-Noir the minute it premieres.
More Marvel fans may already be invested in Prime Video, as it's home to broader superhero fare like The Boys and Invincible (both of which have also new episodes airing over the next few months), but this will still mean an additional streaming service subscription in addition to Disney+, where Marvel's other releases are housed, and waiting a couple of days until Spider-Noir is released there on May 27.
Spider-Noir stars Nicolas Cage, Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson. It follows Cage's Ben Parker in a superhero crime noir story set in an alternate-universe 1930s New York City.
Will Spider-Noir's Additional Cost Turn Away Viewers?
Spider-Noir's initial home on MGM+ will be a frustration for many viewers who aren't already subscribed to the service. Streaming service costs are only getting higher nowadays, and many viewers tend to only invest in one at a time. However, the fact that it is only a 2-day gap between Spider-Noir's initial premiere on MGM+ and its global rollout on Prime Video means it may not have as big an impact on viewership as it seems.
Many fans are likely happy to wait the two days until Spider-Noir is available on Prime Video, which many more are likely to have due to the additional benefits a Prime subscription offers. Of course, spoilers for any Marvel show are a concern, but a two-day head start isn't as critical as an exclusive window that spans weeks or months.
Even if fans decide to fork out for a monthly MGM+ subscription, they would only need to pay for one month, since Spider-Noir drops all its eight episodes at once rather than weekly, so fans can watch it all quickly and then cancel their subscription if they choose. This differs from the MCU's typical strategy on Disney+, which sees weekly rollouts over a couple of months, requiring viewers to be billed multiple times to see the full series.
