It would appear that the divorce between Disney (DIS) and Netflix (NFLX) is now completely finalized, which means that Marvel can finally start seeing other people, or in this case, come home.
For most of the day Twitter and comic book fan sites were abuzz with rumors that Netflix’s Marvel Cinematic Universe shows would be disappearing at the end of the month after fans noticed the disclaimer "This show is available until March 1st.”
And now the newly online-only Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that all of Netflix’s Marvel shows will disappear on midnight at March 1st, as the rights will have expired by then, officially reverting back to Disney.
As of now, you only have two weeks and change to watch all three seasons of “Daredevil,” Jessica Jones,” “Luke Cage,” two seasons of “The Punisher” and “Iron Fist” and the team-up event miniseries “The Defenders.”
What Happened To The Marvel Shows?
So after Marvel’s “The Avengers” broke box office records and the Marvel Cinematic Universe started overtaking the movie industry, Netflix and Marvel reached a partnership to produce TV series about Marvel comics more grounded, street-level superheroes, the type more likely to fight crime bosses than save the universe, and they launched the initiative with a beloved character co-created by the iconic Stan Lee.
The first one out of the gate was “Daredevil” in 2015, staring Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer with super-senses that fights the crime boss as the titular hero. The other series followed, and “Jessica Jones,” starting Krysten Ritter, was just as acclaimed and beloved by fans, though the other titles have more of a mixed reputation.
The TV shows were produced by Marvel Television, which leads some fans to believe led to a more uneven execution than the films, and also why the characters never appeared in any of the Marvel films.
But even as viewership seemed to decline for series like “Iron Fist,” Netflix pulled the plug on its Marvel partnership in 2018 after Disney announced plans to introduce its own streaming service, Disney+. Since Netflix likely didn’t see the need to keep supporting its future rival, it began canceling the series one by one, shortly after the latest seasons dropped.
The sudden cancellation caught fans and many in the industry by surprise, as “Daredevil” star Vincent D'Onofrio said plans were already underway for a fourth season.
Will Disney Make New Episodes of Its Former Netflix Shows?
At the moment, Disney hasn’t indicated what will happen to the Marvel shows. But…let’s be real here. Disney isn’t exactly known for leaving money on the table, and it’s not going to let popular series just sit there when they could be luring potential subscribers to their services.
So while the company might wait a while to drum up fan anticipation and then make a splashy announcement, it’s really only a matter of time before the shows are either on Disney+ or on Hulu, which Disney also owns, and which might be a better fit for the more hard PG-13 skewing “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones,” which are both more violent and a bit sexier than Disney+ Marvel shows such as “WandaVision.”
But the even more pressing question is… will this possibly lead to more seasons of the Marvel shows? That remains to be seen, and there’s all kinds of behind-the-scenes deals that would need to take place. For example, “Luke Cage” star Mike Colter has a role on Paramount Plus’s (VIAB) “Evil,” so he and other stars might be booked. Then again, Marvel has never been shy about recasting a role, if need be. (Just ask Terrence Howard and Edward Norton.)
(Spoiler alert: If you’re just completely behind on all things Marvel skip the next paragraph.)
But there's reason to think Marvel is cooking up something, as it’s been an interesting time to be a “Daredevil,” fan, as Cox made a cameo appearnce as Murdock in "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and D'Onofrio’s Kingpin appeared as the big bad in Disney+’s streaming hit “Hawkeye.”
These two appearances, plus the general buzz about “Spider-Man: No Way Home” was enough to get “Daredevil” trending on Twitter for nearly all of December, as well as to get it back in Nielsen’s weekly U.S. streaming chart of originals for the period of Dec. 20-26, coming in at No. 8.
So clearly there’s still a demand for “Daredevil,” as well as for anything Marvel related. Cox has recently commented that there’s more to come for his character, and Ritter has also indicated that she would be up for returning as well.
But whether this is just a way for Disney to have all its shows in one place or part of a wider relaunch of fan-favorite titles remains to be seen.
