Is Spider-Man: No Way Home coming to Disney Plus? What you need to know – CNET [CNET]

December 19, 2021 Thomas Giboney technology

The reviews are in and the verdict is clear — Spider-Man: No Way Home is must-see cinematic viewing.

It swings into theaters in the US on Dec. 17. The Marvel-Sony sequel starring Tom Holland has already broken ticket sale records, not to mention trailer release records and possibly the record for the most amount of villains Spidey has had to face in the live-action movies at one time.

It’s going to be absolute mayhem. To see it all go down, read on for everything you need to know about watching Spider-Man: No Way Home.

What’s the release date?

No Way Home is scheduled to exclusively hit theaters in the US on Dec. 17. Look out for reviews to flood in after Dec. 13, when the movie has its premiere in Los Angeles.

Is No Way Home coming to Disney Plus?

Long story short: Probably, but not for some time.

After Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Eternals, you’d expect the latest Marvel blockbuster to be heading the way of Disney’s streaming platform. Shang-Chi hit Disney Plus 45 days after the movie’s theatrical release, and Eternals will hit Disney Plus on Jan. 12, just under 70 days after its November release.

But No Way Home is a Marvel Studios and Sony-produced movie, so the playing field is a little different. Thanks to Sony’s deal with Starz, No Way Home is slated to have its streaming release exclusively on the TV service early next year, following the movie’s home release (normally about three months after its theatrical release).

Disney has access to Spider-Man content, but it likely won’t stream No Way Home for some time — until after the movie has had its run on Starz.

nhw-still-126 — Villain central.

Marvel/Sony

What do I need to know before watching the movie?

If you’re a Marvel Cinematic Universe novice, I’m surprised you’ve made it this far. But here are some basics to help you keep track of what’s going on.

No Way Home is part of the MCU’s Phase Four, which is delving into the concept of the multiverse.

Thanks to the trailers, we know that Spider-Man villains from previous Spidey movies outside the MCU, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield playing the web-slinger, are coming back to face Tom Holland’s hero.

These include villains the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx), Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), some of whom last appeared in a Spidey live-action movie over a decade ago.

Aside from that, we last saw Holland’s Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Far From Home, when the world discovered his secret identity as Spider-Man. This outing sees Peter convince powerful sorcerer Doctor Strange to cast a spell that returns everything back to normal. No, things don’t go to plan.