Marvel movie ownership has always been spread out amongst its characters, but the Sony-Marvel partnership for the recent trilogy of Spider-Man movies has resulted in some older Sony Spider-Man movies finally airing on Disney+, and we have the details.
The Details
Four of Sony’s films are now on Disney+ to enjoy: “Spider-Man,” “Spider-Man 2,” “Spider-Man 3,” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
These will be followed by “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and “Venom” on Friday, May 12, 2023.
No word on when “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” will be available to watch…it seems weird it wasn’t included in the first batch of films.
The Spider-Man Trilogy
This trio of films kicked off the live-action Spider-man films and starred Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. They were directed by Sam Raimi, who recently returned to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to direct “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.”
“Spider-Man” (2002) is the origin story of how Peter Parker becomes a superhero, and finds him battling the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe). The film also stars Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watkins, and James Franco as Parker’s friend/foe Harry Osborn.
“Spider-Man 2” (2004) is set two years after the events of the first film, and stars Macguire, Dunst, and Franco. This time around, he must battle scientist Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), also known as Doctor Octopus.
Macguire, Dunst, and Franco return for “Spider-Man 3” (2007), which takes place a year after the events of the last film. This time, the superhero must battle three villains: Venom (Topher Grace), Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), and Harry Osborn taking over as the Green Goblin.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Directed by Marc Webb, “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012), rebooted the character on film, and starred Andrew Garfield as the title character, along with Emma Stone as his love interest Gwen Stacy.
In this film, he fights the Lizard, the monstrous form of Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), his father’s former partner and a scientist at Oscorp.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
This film once again rebooted the character on film, and was the first to star Tom Holland as the teen webslinger. It was also the first to connect the Sony universe with the Marvel Cinematic Universe by allowing characters to appear in each company’s films.
In “Homecoming” (2017) we find Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau reprising their MCU roles of Tony Stark/Iron Man and his assistant Happy. We also see Marisa Tomei reprising her role of Aunt May from “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), where both she and Holland were first introduced to audiences.
Michael Keaton plays the new villain Vulture, plus Zendaya and Jacob Batalon are introduced as Parker’s high school friends M.J. and Ned Leeds.
Venom
In this reboot of the character, “Venom” (2018) introduces the audience to struggling journalist Brock (Tom Hardy), who gains superpowers after becoming the host of an alien symbiote, Venom, whose species plans to invade Earth.
He must battle against Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), who is eventually bonded to another symbiote known as Riot. Michelle Williams also stars as Brock’s ex-fiancé, who in the comics eventually becomes She-Venom.
Future Titles
Hopefully this deal will allow the other Tom Holland films, “Far From Home,” and “No Way Home,” which reunites all three Spidey actors, to finally stream on Disney+.
Also missing from the Disney+ collection is “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” (2021) and “Morbius” (2022).
Sony is currently working on “Madame Web,” starring Dakota Johnson as the title character, a clairvoyant whose psychic abilities allow her to see within the “spider world.”
Set for a 2024 release, it also stars Sydney Sweeney, Emma Roberts, Isabela Merced, Celeste O’Connor, and Adam Scott.