It’s official. Netflix has cancelled Jessica Jones and The Punisher. The streaming service will no longer be making Marvel TV shows about these characters.
The Defenders
What’s happening:
- The day Marvel TV fans have been dreading has arrived.
- The Hollywood Reporter shared the news that Netflix will no longer be producing any Marvel TV series.
- Jessica Jones season 3 has completed production and will air on Netflix, however the official release date has yet to be announced.
- These cancellations follow Marvel TV’s three other shows, Daredevil, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist. All of these characters were then brought together for team-up series, The Defenders.
- Netflix and Marvel announced their partnership back in 2013 with Daredevil being the first series to premiere on the streaming service.
- Speculation about the series of cancellations have led many believe it’s tied to Marvel parent company, Disney’s launching of their own streaming service, Disney+.
- Disney has already announced spin off series for Disney+ surrounding Avengers characters, such as Loki, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon.
- However, Disney+ chairman, Kevin Mayer, recently indicated that the possibility of reviving the Netflix set is not off the table.
What they’re saying:
- Netflix in a statement: "Marvel's The Punisher will not return for a third season on Netflix. Showrunner Steve Lightfoot, the terrific crew, and exceptional cast including star Jon Bernthal, delivered an acclaimed and compelling series for fans, and we are proud to showcase their work on Netflix for years to come. In addition, in reviewing our Marvel programming, we have decided that the upcoming third season will also be the final season for Marvel’s Jessica Jones. We are grateful to showrunner Melissa Rosenberg, star Krysten Ritter and the entire cast and crew for three incredible seasons of this groundbreaking series, which was recognized by the Peabody Awards among many others. We are grateful to Marvel for five years of our fruitful partnership and thank the passionate fans who have followed these series from the beginning."
What Marvel is saying:
- Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb, wrote a letter thanking fans for their support of the Marvel series that aired on Netflix. The letter reads:
It had never been done before.
Four separate television series, each with different super-talented showrunners, writers, directors, cast and crew, coming out months apart and then…
…they would meet in a single event series all set in the heart of New York City.
We called them The Defenders.
And together we were thrilled by stories of Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and even the Punisher joined in!
They said it couldn't be done.
But Marvel assembled amazing teams to write, produce, direct, edit, and score 13 seasons and 161 one-hour episodes.
Take a moment and go online and look at the dazzling list of actors, writers, directors, and musicians who graced us with the very best of their craft.
We loved each and every minute of it.
And we did it all for you — the fans — who cheered for us around the world and made all the hard work worth it.
So, Thank You!
On behalf of everyone at Marvel Television, we couldn't be more proud or more grateful to our audience.
Our Network partner may have decided they no longer want to continue telling the tales of these great characters… but you know Marvel better than that.
As Matthew Murdock's Dad once said, "The measure of a man is not how he gets knocked to the mat, it's how he gets back up."
To be continued…!
– Jeph Loeb and all of us at Marvel Television
More Marvel:
- Just last week, Hulu announced that it would be bringing five new adult animated series to their platform. The show will revolve around:
- Howard the Duck
- Tigra and Dazzler Show
- Hit-Monkey
- M.O.D.O.K.
- The fifth will be a team-up series starring the main characters of the four shows. It will called The Offenders.