Sony has confirmed a shift in its streaming strategy that will mark a major change for future Spider-Man film releases. Despite Spider-Man's place in the MCU, Sony Pictures still holds the rights to the Marvel character and thus handles the web-slinger's streaming negotiations, meaning they often don't release on Disney+ first like other Marvel Studios films. In recent years, Sony and Netflix struck a partnership that resulted in new films, like Spider-Man: No Way Home, streaming on Netflix after their theatrical runs, and that deal recently received a major change.
Netflix and Sony confirmed in a press release that they have renewed their Pay-1 licensing deal, which will continue to allow new Sony films to stream on Netflix after their theatrical and PVOD runs. However, one major expansion of this deal is that the licensing partnership will now be enacted globally, rather than just in the U.S. and the other specific markets outlined in the initial deal. The global Pay-1 arrangement is rolling out gradually but is expected to be implemented worldwide by 2029.
Two Spider-Man films are specifically impacted in this deal, with Sony currently producing Tom Holland's fourth leading MCU film, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the third film of the Spider-Verse animated trilogy, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. Spider-Man: Brand New Day is due to release on July 31, 2026, while Beyond the Spider-Verse is due out on June 18, 2027.
The renewal of this deal means Netflix subscribers in the U.S., Germany, and Southeast Asia will receive these films on Netflix first, as these territories were already part of the original deal between Netflix and Sony Pictures. Depending on how quickly Sony and Netflix implement this arrangement in other markets, subscribers around the world can expect Netflix to be the home of Spider-Man going forward.
The deal also includes upcoming Sony releases like Sam Mendes' Beatles films and Nintendo's live-action The Legend of Zelda movie. However, other upcoming MCU films, like Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars (which Spider-Man will likely be a part of), will continue to stream on Disney+ as part of Disney's ownership of Marvel Studios.
How Quickly Will New Spider-Man Films Stream on Netflix?
While the Sony-Netflix partnership does not outline a specific window for when new releases will begin streaming, it does reiterate that these films will complete their full exclusive theatrical and home media release windows before moving to Netflix.
In the case of Spider-Man: No Way Home, the film arrived on its first streaming home, Starz, in July 2022, about 8 months after its initial release in theaters. The Spider-Man film skipped streaming on Netflix due to the Pay 2 window coming into effect, which moved the Spider-Man streaming rights to Disney. However, this was the last of Sony's films with an exclusive SVOD window on Starz, with the Sony-Netflix deal in full effect as of 2022.
This is compared to Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, which was part of the Sony-Netflix partnership and released on Netflix in October 2023, roughly five months after its theatrical release.
Following this as a guide, fans can expect new Spider-Man films to arrive on Netflix roughly 5-8 months after their initial cinema releases. This means Spider-Man: Brand New Day could arrive on Netflix by the end of 2026, or early 2027, with Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse following a similar pattern in the following year.
