Why Morbius Is Streaming On Disney+ But Spider-Man: No Way Home Still Isn't (2024)

Morbius is currently available to stream on Disney+ yet Spider-Man: No Way Home is absent from the service, causing many to wonder why this is the case. While Spider-Man: No Way Home is part of Marvel Studios' franchise, notably one of the MCU's best-ranked films, Morbius falls under the banner of the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU). This franchise consists of Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Morbius, and Madame Web. Two more Marvel movies in 2024 are expected to fall under this banner: Venom 3 and Kraven the Hunter.

Despite Sony producing the SSU movies without Disney's intervention, unlike the Tom Holland Spider-Man MCU trilogy, each film is now streaming on Disney+. Venom, Venom 2, and Morbius are available to stream on the platform, as is every other live-action Spider-Man movie including both Tobey Maguire's trilogy and Andrew Garfield's The Amazing Spider-Man films. However, only two MCU Spider-Man movies are found on the streaming service, with Spider-Man: No Way Home notably absent. With movies that Marvel Studios did not even produce, like Morbius, part of the service's library, many are wondering why No Way Home is not.

Morbius & Spider-Man: No Way Home Fall Under Different Streaming Deals

Sony's various deals with streaming services cause discrepancies between Morbius and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

Despite the confusion over why Morbius is streaming on Disney+ but Spider-Man: No Way Home is not, the answer is fairly simple. While Marvel Studios' Spider-Man movies starring Tom Holland are part of the MCU, the distribution (and thus streaming) rights are held by Sony Pictures. As part of a deal between Sony Pictures and Starz, the latter company was the only place Sony-released Spider-Man movies could be streamed in Pay-1. In Hollywood, Pay-1 streaming refers to the initial streaming period after a movie's theatrical and home releases have ceased.

This agreement between Sony and Starz covered all movies released until the end of 2021, including Spider-Man: No Way Home. However, from 2022 onward, Sony forged a deal with Netflix to take Starz's previous role. This means that Sony movies now stream solely on Netflix for the entirety of the Pay-1 window which usually covers around 18 months. While these various deals and streaming services may seem confusing, the fact of the matter is that Spider-Man: No Way Home and Morbius fall under the respective different streaming deals mentioned.

Morbius, being released in theaters in April 2022, fell under the Netflix Pay-1 deal. With the Pay-1 period for Morbius' streaming release ending in March 2024, Disney+ procured the rights to stream the film. Given that Spider-Man: No Way Home was released in theaters in December 2021, it fell under the Starz-Sony deal. As such, No Way Home was streaming in the Pay-1 window on Starz up until January 2024. This now gives Sony the option to shop the movie to other streaming services, making a Disney+ streaming release more likely for the MCU film in the future.

Madame Web's Further Shows Why Morbius & No Way Home's Streaming Releases Are So Different

Madame Web Experienced A Much Quicker Move To Netflix

The next live-action Spider-Man movie to release after Morbius, Madame Web served to underline how and why there are different deals when it comes to streaming releases for different movies. Having faced negative reviews and poor box office results, Madame Web's May streaming release on Netflix was only 3 months after its initial theatrical debut, which is a far shorter window of time than had been previously predicted for the Sony film - potentially streamlined because of the lackluster reaction to the movie.

Naturally, as another Sony release, Madame Web was also bound for Netflix before it had even released due to the Sony-Netflix deal, though it's worth noting even this doesn't replicate Morbius exactly. Morbius debuted on Netflix 5 months after its theatrical release, which is notably a longer period than Madame Web, though the two timeframes aren't too far apart. This shows that even within the same deal and franchise, different contexts, different timelines, and different receptions to the movie can all factor in to create different results.

As such, it's unclear whether Madame Web will also transition over to Disney+ in the manner Morbius did, and indeed whether it will at all based on perceptions regarding its story and quality. However, either way, it serves as a helpful example to show why Morbius and Spider-Man: No Way Home had such different streaming results despite being so close to each other in the overarching release schedule, as even two installments within Sony's own live-action Spider-Man universe faced differing timelines.

Will Sony's Other Spider-Man Villain Movies Stream On Disney+?

The other SSU movies of 2024 may not be far behind Morbius on Disney+.

With the confusion around Sony's various deals cleared up, a prevalent question is whether other SSU movies could begin streaming on Disney+. Venom 3 and Kraven the Hunter both expected in the latter half of 2024, with both of these movies falling under the Sony-Netflix streaming deal, meaning each one will stream on Netflix for the 18-month Pay-1 period after theatrical and home releases conclude. After this point, though, they could begin streaming on Disney+ like their predecessors.

When Will Spider-Man: No Way Home Stream On Disney+?

Spider-Man: No Way Home is needed for Disney to complete its Spider-Man and MCU collection on Disney+.

Spider-Man: No Way Home is currently the only live-action Spider-Man and MCU movie not streaming on Disney+. As such, Disney is likely to attempt to bring the film to the streaming service in the name of completion. With all other Spider-Man movies streaming on the service, Spider-Man: No Way Home stands out as missing. Similarly, No Way Home is the only MCU property - be it films or TV shows - not present in the streaming service's library which is made worse by the film's integral story to the Multiverse Saga and the journey of Tom Holland's Spider-Man.

This all means that the film will likely begin streaming on Disney+ in the near future. As alluded to, Spider-Man: No Way Home's Pay-1 period ended in January 2024, as evidenced by the film being removed from the Starz streaming library. While the film is yet to find another streaming home after this, the above trends broken by Spider-Man: No Way Home's absence from Disney+ will give the studio a lot of incentive to complete the Spider-Man and MCU collection. With Morbius added in March 2024, Spider-Man: No Way Home may not be far behind.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life from the trials and tribulations of being a superhero. In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) asks for help from Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) when his identity becomes a problem for the ones he loves. Unfortunately, when the spell goes wrong, Spider-Man will now have to face off with villains such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jamie Foxx) as Peter finally comes to terms that he can't run from being Spider-Man. Supported by his close friends and help from an unexpected place (or multiverse), Spider-Man will go toe-to-toe with some of the most legendary foes in his storied history.

Director

Jon Watts

Release Date

December 17, 2021

Cast

Zendaya , Jon Favreau , Tom Holland , Jamie Foxx , Alfred Molina , Benedict Cumberbatch , Marisa Tomei , J.B. Smoove , Benedict Wong , Jacob Batalon

Franchise(s)

Marvel Cinematic Universe