General Netflix audiences have yet to see The Defenders – the show that represents the culmination of the four character specific superhero series that have been released over the past three years – but that hasn’t stopped the press from asking about the likelihood of a second season.
The first episode of the first season was screened for fans at San Diego Comic-Con last week and was warmly received, for the mot part – but Marvel Television’s Jeph Loeb would not be drawn on the future of the show when questioned by Collider.
“I don’t know. We haven’t really gotten to that place. I don’t know that there will be a Defenders #2,” he said.
A cautious approach is probably prudent for Marvel Television at this point. To date, we’ve seen four of these series released on Netflix, but some have been more critically successful than others. Daredevil delivered an solid first season, while its second was decidedly lacklustre. Both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage debuted with outstanding first seasons, but Iron Fist was largely a critical disappointment.
Second seasons of Jessica Jones and Luke Cage are now in production and highly anticipated, and a spinoff series of The Punisher (introduced in Daredevil’s second season) is also getting ready to premiere. But, the lack of viewer data from Netflix makes the intentions of Marvel’s Television hard to predict. A third season of Daredevil has been commissioned, along with a second season of Iron Fist – but it’s difficult know if either of those shows are as profitable as their stable-mates.
So, it’s hardly surprising that Jeph Loeb is currently unclear as to whether there will be a second season of The Defenders. Aside from the fact that season 1 has yet to be released, any such plans will surely be dependent upon the success or otherwise of these further solo series.
The answer may lie in the choice of villain, as it’s surely no coincidence that both Jessica Jones and Luke Cage critically exceeded expectations, and featured antagonists other than the evil mystical ninjas of The Hand. It’s The Hand that apparently causes the heroes to unite in The Defenders, however – so the success of that series as an eight-episode whole is anybody’s guess until it finally arrives on Netflix on August 18th.