As Deadline (opens in new tab) reports, Silk: Spider Society is the first of a series of Marvel shows not coming to Disney Plus. But Prime Video isn’t even their first stop: Epix, which will be reborn as MGM Plus in January, will be Silk’s first stop. Yes, streaming services with a ‘Plus’ will continue until morale improves, delivering many more potential entries to our list of the best shows on Prime Video. Oh, and before you say “another Spider-Man character with their own project, wasn’t Morbius bad enough?” Silk’s alter-ego was casually introduced in two MCU movies already. Tiffany Espensen played Cindy Moon in both Spider-Man: Homecoming and Avengers: Infinity War. Moon, in the comics, was bitten by the same spider that bit Peter Parker, and got her powers that way. In the comics, her search for her family is an early major plot. Angela Kang (The Walking Dead) is the showrunner. This is the first of many Marvel shows coming to MGM Plus and Prime Video (which will be the shows’ first stop internationally).
Analysis: Disney Plus’ lack of Marvel unity becomes more obvious
Spider-Man movies and that one Incredible Hulk film used to be the sole outliers in Disney Plus’ claim to be the streaming home of all things Marvel. Yes, the Defenders (Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist) used to be on Netflix, but they got pulled in eventually. Sony’s movies aren’t exactly MCU canon, seemingly off in their own multiverse(s), but they have shared Tom Holland, and seem likely to going forward. Now, MGM Plus and Prime Video will be releasing their own fair share of Marvel projects, which can draw from more than 900 Marvel characters. How did we get here? A 1999 deal (as reported by Bloomberg (opens in new tab)) saw Sony Pictures pay Marvel a mere $7 Million USD for the film rights to all things Spider-Man. Once these shows arrive, and Sony, MGM Plus and Prime Video make it seem like a must for people to watch those to understand it’s Spider-Man movies, it will be even more obvious that Disney Plus is now definitely not the only home for shows about Marvel characters. And that’s frustrating, especially when a Disney Plus price hike is coming soon. We don’t know when the Silk series will launch, nor if Ms. Espensen will reprise the role, but by that point, we’re guessing Disney Plus will have many more Marvel shows in hand to convince people to stay.
