By now, you’ve likely heard the not-so-surprising news that The Punisher and Jessica Jones have officially been canceled, albeit with a third season still to come for the latter.
With Iron Fist, Luke Cage, and Daredevil all getting dropped in quick succession last year, it seems that Marvel is now all out of Netflix shows, and to mark the end of an era, Marvel Television president Jeph Loeb has shared a message for fans via Marvel.com that we quote in full below:
“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 148 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”
Indeed, Marvel’s run on Netflix was impressive while it lasted, though the biggest question on the mind of many a fan right now is what happens next. So far, Disney has been keeping largely quiet on the matter, and if a report published last December by Variety is anything to go by, then Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist and the Punisher may not be allowed to appear in any non-Netflix releases until two years after cancelation.
That being said, Loeb himself mentioned earlier this month at the TCA winter press tour that he wouldn’t be surprised if the canceled shows reemerged somewhere else. Meanwhile, Hulu’s Senior Vice President of Original Programming said last week that he was “open” to the possibility of reviving the properties, and with Marvel recently partnering with the platform to work on four adult-oriented animated shows, it certainly sounds like Disney may have plans to use the streaming service as their new home for projects that don’t belong on the more family-friendly Disney Plus.
In any case, it could still be a long wait before we see most of the Defenders back on our screens, but in the meantime, Jessica Jones is set to have its last hurrah when the third season drops later this year.