If you were holding out hope that the cancellations of Marvel shows Iron Fist, Daredevil, and Luke Cage were due to low viewership and not a symptom of the dying partnership between streaming giant Netflix and general giant Marvel (by way of Disney), I am here to stamp the light out of your life and I’m only a little bit sorry. Netflix has just announced the cancellations of The Punisher and Jessica Jones, and in so doing, put the nail in the coffin of its six-year relationship with Marvel.
Why would they do that, you ask. Well, it’s simple – Daddy, I mean Disney is launching Disney+, a streaming service which will, of course, rely heavily on content from Disney’s intellectual properties to draw in audiences. Earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed that Captain Marvel wouldn’t be available to stream on Netflix, because it would exclusively stream on Disney+. Given the company’s willingness to forego an estimated $150 million in revenue from multiple streaming services for a blockbuster movie, it should come as no surprise that TV shows will follow the same formula.
That’s not to say that all the shows which die on Netflix are guaranteed to respawn on Disney+, but it is to say that the chances are high that at least some of them will get a revamp and relaunch. So pray to Mickey Mouse that your favourite shows make the cut. And if that doesn’t work… try Hulu, which is thus far managing to keep Marvel show The Runaways, because Disney is a shareholder (read: stepdad).
There was a Thanos joke in here somewhere about cancellations but I just couldn’t find it. Sorry folks, we all have bad days.
Via Deadline.