Sony and Disney have had a somewhat contentious relationship over the past few years due to a complicated case of IP rights and ownership. While Disney owns Marvel and has made a fortune off of their Marvel Cinematic Universe line of films, Sony still owns the film rights to Spider-Man, who is arguably the most popular hero in the Marvel universe, and possibly the most popular comic-book hero of all time, depending on criteria. This has put Disney in a somewhat awkward position of how to negotiate the rights to a character they technically own, but can't make movies about.
Sony, knowing this gave them a huge advantage, made it very clear they had no intention of just letting the rights wander back over to Disney, who would inevitably use them to integrate Spider-Man into the MCU. However, since Sony's own Amazing Spider-Man films bombed with critics and audiences, they too were looking to reinvigorate the brand, and so a compromise was reached: Sony would continue to own and produce Spider-Man movies and spin-offs, but this time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and Disney would help foot the bill. This allowed Spider-Man to enter the MCU, while still giving Sony control over the IP.
While that has been a welcome deal from the fans' perspective, it has put Spider-Man himself on some shaky ground. The deal has to be continually renewed between the two parties, and Sony continues to develop their own continuity of films with Spider-Man villains such as Venom. It has also had some awkward caveats for Disney, such as the inability to include the various Spider-Man films with all the Marvel movies available on their streaming service, Disney Plus.
That part, at least, seems to have changed with a recent deal signed between Sony and Disney. With this latest agreement, Disney has acquired the rights to license new Sony films for streaming after their initial release and streaming period, which means that the MCU Spider-Man films may make their way to Disney Plus after, along with some other Sony films.
It's not going to be immediate, however. Sony still has a deal with Netflix which means they get first dibs on many of their films, but after that window expires, Disney is free to secure the rights for their own streaming platform. This means films like the Venom sequel, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and even franchises like Jumanji will eventually make their way to Disney Plus, which is a nice addition to the library for Disney. It also indicates that Sony may be trying to play the streaming market as a seller of content, rather than a distributor with their own proprietary streaming service.
While financial details have not been disclosed, this is certainly an interesting move from both sides, and will at least benefit MCU fans who will be able to see more of the catalog under one platform eventually. As long as they can hold out through both the theatrical and Netflix release windows, that is.
Spider-Man: No Way Home is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 17, 2021.
Source: Sony