Netflix: 'Doctor Strange' and 'Iron Man 2' Are Unavailable in Some Countries

Even before Disney stops sending their Marvel movies to Netflix, some of those films are unavailable in certain regions -- even the United States.

A discussion of international distribution rights and the limits of Netflix's licenses has popped up on Reddit after a user wondered why Iron Man 2 and Doctor Strange are not available in India.

Other users chimed in with their wisdom and experiences, with "NotAgainDad" noting that Hotstar has streaming rights to several of the Marvel movies in India, so looking outside of Netflix may be necessary for some users in that country.

A user going by "m1ndwipe" pointed out that even in the U.S., Iron Man 2 is not available on Netflix, so if you want to binge all of the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, there will be a little bit of legwork involved.

In the earliest days of Netflix, if the company did not own the streaming rights to a movie, it was unlikely to be widely available on streaming. Now, though, rights are fractured -- especially with wildly popular movies, which might have deals at premium cable channels like HBO, Showtime, or even Starz in addition to traditional streaming contracts in place.

As Disney moves to its own streaming service, Captain Marvel will be the first Marvel release that will not come to Netflix at all. For some time, Netflix will continue to control the streaming rights for many of Disney's biggest films, and the studio has indicated that they will not pursue those rights but instead let the contracts ride out and then move content to Disney Play when existing deals have expired.

That means that the next few years will be confusing for consumers who stream on demand rather than owning content, as Marvel, Star Wars, and other brands start to filter through various streaming services at home and abroad.

During a recent interview, The Last Blockbuster filmmaker Taylor Morden noted that while Netflix has a massive library, many popular films and franchises are either absent or fragmented on the streaming service.

"Netflix, for as convenient as it is, it has a tiny fraction of the movies that even the Blockbuster here in Bend has," Morden said. "You can't get Mighty Ducks 3 on Netflix, but they've got two copies at Blockbuster."

The studio is already investing in and developing high-profile, exclusive projects set to premiere on Disney Play, including a live-action Lady and the Tramp and a Jon Favreau-steered live-action Star Wars television series to the tune of $100 million for a 10-episode run.

Also headed to Disney Play are series inspired by some of Disney's biggest IPs, including new TV series based on Disney-Pixar's Monsters, Inc., tween favorite High School Musical, and an all-new Marvel series.

The service will launch sometime in 2019.