What ‘Daredevil’s’ Cancellation Means for Netflix and Marvel’s Future

Argument For: Well, canceling three shows back-to-back-to-back is a pretty good argument for this era being on life support. When Iron Fist was canceled, the wide assumption was that Danny Rand would be folded into Luke Cage Season 3. That made sense considering the two are most recognizable together in the comics. And when Luke Cage was canceled, the fingers-crossed wish would be that maybe they’d be folded into the future of Daredevil, as that’s the flagship Marvel/Netflix show (and both Luke and Danny have been Daredevil supporting players in the comics, albeit to a lesser extent). With Daredevil canceled, that just leaves Jessica Jones and The Punisher, the two most anti-social of all of Netflix’s heroes. You could fold Cage back into Jessica Jones, and you could bring back Matt Murdock for an episode of The Punisher, but is that really the future we want for these characters? Guest spots?

Why is Netflix cancelling Marvel shows? It’s wise to assume that Netflix, having grown considerably even since Daredevil debuted back in 2015, has little interest in content that they don’t produce and own fully themselves. The fact that their partner in these superhero shows is launching a competing service just makes these cancellations even more of a no-brainer. Why would Netflix want to boost the IP of their direct competition? That’s also why they bought Mark Millar’s Millarworld, giving them a superhero universe of their own to develop totally separate from Marvel.

Further proof of this: Jessica Jones and Luke Cage both started production on Season 3 almost immediately after their seasons dropped earlier this year. While the Jones‘ cast was shooting in NYC this summer, Luke Cage’s writers’ room was staffed and churning out scripts. Netflix knew Disney+ was coming, but also knew they controlled how long their Marvel shows ran. They apparently saw no reason to cancel Jones or Cage. And then in mid-September, it was reported that Disney+ would be making Marvel TV shows starring characters from the movies. A month later, Iron Fist got the axe and production on Luke Cage Season 3 ceased. I don’t know for sure, but it seems like something changed and changed fast, possibly because of that announcement.

I also want to point out that while the interest in all of the Marvel shows definitely waned over time, Daredevil’s 2018 season was almost twice as popular as the other three.

The fact that Daredevil’s better-than-the-rest cultural penetration didn’t save it from cancellation does not bode well for Jones or Punisher.

Argument Against: It’s only technically almost over because we have one more season of The Punisher and Jessica Jones coming in 2019. After that, though, does anyone think there’s any future at Netflix for either show? Really? Jones is losing it’s creator/showrunner Melissa Rosenberg after Season 3, so it seems like a good a time as any to end it.

Verdict: The Punisher Season 2 and Jessica Jones Season 3 will be the last Marvel seasons on Netflix.

Argument For: This is what everyone with a cursory knowledge of The State Of Streaming in 2018 assumes. Disney announced their own streaming service, one with shows produced by Marvel Studios starring characters from the movies (we know Tom Hiddleston’s getting a Loki mini-series, among many other rumored projects). This has obviously fractured Disney’s once exclusive relationship with Netflix; all the Marvel, Star Wars, and other Disney movies are leaving the service after 18-months and every Disney movie from 2019 onward will go directly to Disney+.

So yeah, it makes some sense that Marvel would also maneuver all of its TV shows, including the Netflix ones, over to Disney+ as well. And all of Netflix’s cancelation announcements include cryptic language about the characters living on in future Marvel projects. Since The Punisher and Jessica Jones‘ days are definitely numbered, what else could that mean? Maybe this means we could finally get the Black Widow/Daredevil adventure that I have been dying to see!

Argument Against: If only it were that easy! First, there’s no guarantee that Netflix actually knows what’s ahead for these characters when they say that they’ll appear in future projects. They could just be passing the ball to Disney so fans will be annoyed with Disney+ for not continuing these shows instead of hating Netflix for canceling them. Second, there’s absolutely no reason to think that Disney+ even wants these shows. Remember, Marvel Studios and Marvel Television are two different, often adversarial companies. So far, we only know that Marvel Studios will be making content for Disney+ (the aforementioned Loki show and the Shuri Solves Everything show that I just thought up and we all need). The Marvel/Netflix shows are part of Marvel Television and ABC Productions. They aren’t involved with Disney+ yet (although they probably will be; why continue to pit your own divisions against each other when they can all now live in the House of Mouse?).

Verdict: This seems like a no-brainer and while it would make sense, I really don’t think it’s as simple as Daredevil Season 4 jumping to a “new network.” It could happen, it should happen, but it will definitely involve a lot of behind-the-scenes negotiating. So, maybe?

Argument For: Didn’t see this one coming, did ya?! But yeah, there’s a possibility that the Runaways could end up annoying Jessica Jones or trying to survive an encounter with the Punisher. The reason Hulu is involved is because we know that Disney+ is intended to be a family-friendly, more all-ages streaming service. That’s not really a problem in regards to Disney’s stuff, because all of it is on that level. This comes up in regards to Disney’s acquisition of Fox, a studio that produces a ton of R-rated content (like, for instance, Deadpool). The thought has been that since Disney’s acquisition of Fox will give them 66% ownership of Hulu, that all the R-rated and mature Fox content will go there. Since all the Marvel/Netflix shows have been pretty bloody and like using the F-word every now and then, it’s possible they could end up on Hulu–that is if Disney decides to continue them.

Argument Against: All the same arguments against Disney picking up all these discarded shows in the first place. There’s also the matter of whether or not these shows even need to be any more violent than the Marvel movies. If you remove the excessive blood and infrequent impalements, they’re all more or less on the level of a Captain America: Civil War. Plus, just how family-friendly is Disney+ gonna be really? Their two announced Star Wars shows are The Mandalorian, a show starring an outlaw in the rough parts of the galaxy, and a show about deadly Rebel spies starring Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor.

Verdict: This scenario is two steps removed from today’s reality (Disney deciding to continue these shows, and then Disney putting them on Hulu). It’s only likely if the kinda unlikely Disney+ scenario pans out.

Argument For: The Marvel Universe is definitely dead at Netflix, there’s really no doubt about that. And as I laid out above, the path to Disney+ involves Marvel TV and Marvel Studios squashing their beef. And even if they do, I really don’t think Disney+ will prioritize picking up old Netflix shows over getting all their hot new limited series featuring movie stars off the ground.

Argument Against: It can’t be dead because it shouldn’t be dead. The Netflix shows started off strong, really struggled in the middle, and then turned it around with Daredevil Season 3, quite possibly the best season of TV they’ve ever produced. And even when seasons have struggled, the casting has been nearly perfect across the board. Everyone from the leads to the supporting players (Deborah Ann Woll, Simone Missick, Jessica Henwick, Rachael Taylor, Vincent D’Onofrio!) have been stellar. It’s a rich world that could add so much to the (comparatively) bright MCU. This is a fully-formed universe, one that Disney+ wisely should pick up. Who knows if they’ll want to, though.

Verdict: I hope that I’m surprised and Disney+ stuns us all with a major announcement soon. Or maybe they’ll pick everything up in 2020 or 2021, after the newness on all those movie star shows has worn off. Or maybe this is it. It’s really too soon to tell.