Why Disney+ Subscribers Should Expect a Long Wait

Eager Disney+ subscribers expecting Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse on the streaming service may be waiting quite some time for the Mutliversal adventure. 

Miles Morales’ latest animated blockbuster has enjoyed quite the run of success since its theatrical debut in early June. 

The film earned rave reviews upon release, with its “heartfelt character beats [and] crazy multiverse content” being praised by critics across the industry. The movie also dominated at the box office, becoming Sony Pictures Animation’s biggest film to date. 

Now, the web-slinging epic is headed home, arriving on video-on-demand storefronts, with a Netflix release expected sometime in the near future. 

A Long Wait For Spider-Verse 2 on Disney+

Those expecting Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse to hit Disney+ anytime soon will be sorely disappointed. 

It’s anticipated that the sequel will start streaming on Netflix by the end of 2023, but the wait for its Disney+ release is expected to be much longer due to Sony Pictures’ deals with the two streamers.

Sony signed an agreement with Disney in April 2021 to allow its films released from 2022 to 2026 to eventually land on Disney+.

As it stands, Netflix will stream Sony Pictures’ movies during each respective films’ Pay 1 period (Sony agreed to this deal shortly before its one with Disney), which comes directly following the theatrical window (roughly six to nine months after a film’s big-screen debut). 

It is after this Pay 1 period that Spider-Verse 2 is allowed to go to Disney+.

However, seeing as these Pay 1 windows typically end around 18 months after a movie’s theatrical release (according to The Hollywood Reporter), this would mean Across the Spider-Verse would not be able to hit Disney+ until December 2024 at the very earliest. 

When Exactly Will Spider-Verse 2 Come to Disney+? 

Now the biggest question is, when exactly will the Spider-Verse sequel come to Disney+?

It currently remains unknown the exact release date, but there are a few indicators to point to a potential release date on Disney’s streaming service. 

Seeing as the film cannot hit Disney+ until that Pay 2 window, a release on the service cannot happen until at least the end of 2024. 

Right now, Across the Spider-Verse‘s incoming sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, has been taken off the release calendar at Sony Pictures amid the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, with some speculating the threequel could come to theaters sometime in 2025. 

This could make for the perfect opportunity for some brand synergy (if Sony was willing to play nice with Disney), lining up Spider-Verse 2‘s Disney+ release somewhat around the theatrical debut of Spider-Verse 3. 

These streamers also have a propensity for big streaming debuts being used to kick off the year, with the likes of Seinfeld, Uncut Gems, and Friends all getting major event streaming releases at the turn of the calendar.

So, a January 2025 Disney+ debut for Across the Spider-Verse feels like the most likely scenario at present. 

January 2025 would line up with that beginning of the year timing the streamers love and could kick off the ‘year of Spider-Verse‘ for Sony Pictures with the third film now potentially releasing in 2025. 

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse set to hit digital storefronts on August 8.